Madam Deputy Speaker, hon members, with the current changes sweeping across the education sector, one can only adopt a wait and see attitude in order to make an informed assessment of what the outcomes will be, with the hope that we one day will realise our dreams. The need for this swift intervention, Mr Minister, in the shortage of skills cannot be denied because we are indeed faced with a crisis in our country.
Let me state the obvious, if only to underscore a point: that it is not all skills that are in short supply; it is skills relevant to the economy that are much needed. There are in South Africa many people without jobs and many jobs without people and that is why the issue of relevant skills takes centre stage.
I am glad that the Minister has done a skills audit, albeit that I think it was too short a period, unless the Minister found the skills audit in place. I am also glad that the Minister has considered the human resource development plan amongst the tools that were used in coming up with the recommendations.
It is our considered view as Cope that general education is the baseline to everything that we want to achieve. The new provisions for skills development must never and can never replace the need for education. In fact, linking skills to education is the sustainable way.
It is clear in our minds that in responding to the skills shortage we need a mixed bag of interventions, that is crisis intervention, providing skills that are short now. We need short-term and long-term measures. We must be able to plan and provide for the skills of the economy, which will be required in the next 10 years and beyond.
We also need, Mr Minister, a mixed bag of offerings which has learnerships, trade education, apprenticeships, artisanships and other recognised forms of experiential exposure. [Time expired.] [Applause.]