​Last Friday, the Gauteng Department of Social Development hosted a skills development partnership breakfast with training authorities such as the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), and the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP) to address economic and social challenges through skills development programs.
These partnerships seek to increase the scale of implementing quality skills development programmes linked to sustainable opportunities and to allow more youth, women, and persons with disabilities to obtain accredited qualifications.

Speaking to representatives from the various training organisations at The Lakes Hotel and Conference Centre in Benoni, Gauteng Social Development MEC Morakane Mosupyoe said the government needed to extend an invitation to public-private stakeholders, to seek partnerships and generate interest in skills and economic development.

“Our objective as Social Development is to help young people develop socially, cognitively, and physically. This we believe is the most valuable investment that government can make to drive social inclusion and reduce poverty. We further link young people to jobs and with the entrepreneurship programme in place, we are also able to facilitate an exit pathway from welfare to self-reliance,” said Mosupyoe.

She added, “We have implemented this programme by funding Development Centres (Community-Based Skills Centres) from 2004 to date. During this period, many of these organisations have relied on the Department as a primary funder and struggled to obtain funding outside the Department.”

“While the Department has made significant strides in playing a fundamental role in breaking the cycle of poverty in families, we are faced with the fact that the Department can only fund a limited duration with a limited target of beneficiaries due to budget limitations. This leads to the linking of fewer youth, women, and people with disabilities who exit to mainly entry-level jobs,” said Mosupyoe.

Currently, the Department is allocated R240million for interventions geared towards youth development. These include the Welfare to Work Programme, Youth Development Programmes, and the Development Centre Programme.

“Some skills programmes require further education and training for a full qualification and certification. Therefore, it is crucial that we improve the scale and reach of youth development programmes through additional funding commitments for skills development.”

“Furthermore, we recognise that all these efforts can be doubled or expanded with greater impact if we forge collaborations with the stakeholders that are at the centre of skills development in the country.”

“It is precisely for these reasons that we sought to facilitate this gathering that we hope will pave way for our partnerships and present an opportunity to expand partnerships between the SETAs and NPOs in the province, building on the programmes that the Department is currently funding in various communities.”

“This is in line with widespread agreement and commitment by the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) that they need to significantly expand the participation of young people in skills development programmes as well as workplace-based learning opportunities,” added Mosupyoe.