#TwoBits: Isn’t that what Parliament’s for?

Forgive me if I am a little cynical about the much-trumpeted National Dialogue that is gripping our television screens.

President Ramaphosa invited 1 000 “eminent” people of our society to talk about the country’s future and how to solve its problems at a cost of some R700 million. I thought that was what Parliament was for.

We go through the laborious, expensive process every four years of electing a couple of hundred people to represent us in Cape Town, to discuss our problems with the purpose of fixing them and to plan for the future. Now Ramaphosa created another, parallel talk shop at vast expense. Why?

Everyone with a head on their shoulders can see the country’s problems, plain as day. Corruption is out of control, crime is out of control, the taxi and building mafia are out of control, the police force is a shadow of its former self. The house is falling down. Unemployment is the highest in the world, and if Cyril only addressed that, and lot of other problems could be fixed.

One of the core problems, in my view, is that the education system has failed us. Over the past 30 years the government has closed most technical schools and colleges – reportedly 105 in total – in the haste to address historical inequalities, racial segregation and inefficiencies inherited from the apartheid regime and to shift focus toward higher-level skills development.

The result of that was to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Yes, society wanted their children to become doctors, lawyers and accountants, but they forgot they needed bricklayers and carpenters to build houses, plumbers to fix the drains, electricians to keep the lights on.

Those jobs weren’t fashionable. Vocational training is viewed as “low status” due to its historical association with Bantu education under apartheid, leading to persistent negativity and preference for university degrees. Young people, especially from poor families, often skip post-secondary education altogether or opt for universities, perceiving the few TVET – technical and vocational education and training colleges – as second-rate due to poor management, outdated curricula and misalignment with job market needs.

There are many North Coast residents who have their own businesses or are skilled employees today because they were educated at technical colleges or trade schools and served apprenticeships under the eye of qualified and experienced mentors. That is mostly gone. Professionals in the construction sector will tell you that well-trained and qualified artisans are as rare as hen’s teeth. Very often the skilled artisans are migrants from further north and that causes another raft of problems.

According to reports, there are more than 500 000 jobs in South Africa that cannot be filled due to lack of artisan skills. South Africa only produces about 15 000 qualified artisans a year, while at least 30 000 are needed annually to meet development goals. Some estimates say the country should produce 35 000 artisans per year to keep up with demand, but output remains far short of this target.

This country urgently needs more education but it has to be the right sort of education. If the President’s National Forum produces anything of practical use, let one be the need to put vocational education right at the head of the queue, and get the nation working again.

There you go Cyril, that’s my advice. Free, mahala, please just get on with it.

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