Deputy Speaker, I would like to thank the hon member for drawing the House's attention to the importance of Jipsa, a programme that was launched in order to address the human skills shortage that we have in our country.
I wish to share with the House the fact that we have made a good start. The FET colleges have been recapitalised to the tune of R1,9 billion in the past three years. They have been rationalised. I think the location of training, now with the Department of Higher Education, is correct and allows for better articulation between education and training.
The issue raised by my colleague concerning the FET colleges being a wonderful vehicle or venue for the training of nurses and, indeed, educators, is something that we are looking at very closely as well.
With regard to basic education and the technical skills that are in such great demand, I can announce or share with the House the fact that we are expanding or recapitalising our technical schools. There will be pilots in each one of the nine provinces.
Courses, ranging from electrical engineering to plumbing, to boiler making and tool making, are going to be offered in these institutions. These institutions will place a particular emphasis on access and will be responsive and relevant to the needs of the learners, so I think a wonderful start has been made.
The other advantage is that the legislation governing FET colleges has been changed in the previous year. These changes allow for a very flexible environment that enables institutions to provide courses that address the skills that are so desperately required in our country. Thank you.