S. Africa dedicated to skilled citizenry: deputy president

South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday stressed the importance of achieving a skilled citizenry to expand the productive capacity of the economy.

"With a skilled citizenry we can be more resourceful, more inventive, more creative and achieve great things," Ramaphosa said at the Human Resource Development Council Summit in Midrand, north of Johannesburg.

More than 500 delegates representing organized business, labour, civil society organizations and government are attending the two-day gathering.

The summit is about how to accelerate the development of skills in critical sectors of the economy, to address unemployment, poverty and inequality.

The summit was held as the government embarked on a number of initiatives to craft home-grown solutions to restore investors' confidence and improve skill levels.

South Africa is not content merely to extract minerals and grow food, but wants to manufacture, build and process, said Ramaphosa.

"Education and skills development are the most effective means we have at our disposal to end poverty and reduce inequality," Ramaphosa added.

According to the deputy president, South Africa has suffered from a shortage of artisans which undermines economic growth.

"It is for this reason that we are improving the profile of the sector and investing massively in the training and employment of artisans," said Ramaphosa.

He said a strategy has been worked out by the Department of Higher Education and Training to bridge the gap between training and employment. Enditem