Hon Speaker, Cabinet colleagues, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, hon members, I believe that the Further Education and Training Colleges Amendment Bill before us today is an important piece of legislation towards strengthening and repositioning the further education and training, FET, college sector to be at the centre of skills development in our country, especially to absorb the millions of our youth who have finished school or have completed a certain minimum number of years at school.
This legislation must be seen within the context of many other measures being undertaken by my department to strengthen and realign institutions in the postschool education and training landscape, especially the closer alignment of FET colleges with employers, in both the public and private sectors, the sector education and training authorities, Setas, as well as the universities and trade unions.
Hon Speaker and hon members, you are well aware that the establishment of the Department of Higher Education and Training, following the proclamation by the President in 2009, necessitated the shifting of the functions of both adult education and training as well as FET colleges from the provincial education departments to our department. This shift in functions is proceeding and will go hand in hand with the implementation of the amendments to the Bill. We have also set up the appropriate transition mechanisms. I also wish to inform you that this Bill has been preceded by expressions by all nine MECs of education of unanimous support for the presidential proclamation, as well as the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the nine MECs and me. The national FET summit held last year, representing all the key stakeholders, as well as representatives from the nine provincial governments, unanimously endorsed the shift of responsibility for FET colleges to the Department of Higher Education and Training.
The second goal of this legislation is to regularise the employment of college staff in order to provide stability and enhance retention of staff employed at FET colleges. This will be a major improvement in our work towards the development and expansion of a vibrant college sector.
To date the sector has not been able to effectively retain its skilled workforce because jobs in colleges are seen as not being secure. The exodus of experienced and qualified staff from the sector, mainly as a result of the change in their conditions of employment, has made it difficult to achieve the important goal of building a skilled workforce in the country.
The amendments to the Bill therefore provide the opportunity for the majority of staff in the college sector to be employees of the state. Their conditions of service will be regulated in terms of the Public Service Act in the same way as is provided for for other professionals working for the state.
It is worth reflecting on the dual role of the department and colleges as employers. This existed before the current legislation and it is desirable to have that status retained, enabling colleges to create additional posts and act as an employer where necessary.
However, the majority of staff in a college will now be employed by the state. Even college-employed staff cannot have unfavourable conditions of service when compared to their counterparts who are employed by the state. This Bill will also resolve the current complexity of the bargaining process and the new legislation will ensure that only the Minister may provide the mandate on issues of mutual interest.
Let me take this opportunity to thank Adv Malale, the chairperson of the portfolio committee, and the members of his committee for the good work they have done. I also want to thank the director-general and senior staff members in my department, as well as all the stakeholders who have participated with us on this journey to transform the FET college sector to respond better to our skills needs.