Minister Alan Winde's Workers' Day message

Today, as we celebrate Workers’ Day, I would like to acknowledge the men and women who take our country forward.

In the Western Cape, we have selected the creation of opportunities for jobs and growth as one of our most important objectives. It is my goal to expand access to the economy to give more families the opportunity to improve their lives.

To make the biggest economic impact, we are focussing on a set of high-potential sectors through our Project Khulisa growth strategy.

Since we launched Project Khulisa in 2014, 127 000 jobs were created in the Western Cape's agriculture and agri processing sectors, bringing the total number of residents who are employed in these sectors to 448 000.

In tourism, early indications are that in excess of 50 000 jobs have been created over the same period. I will be releasing a more detailed update on Project Khulisa’s progress later this year.

Apart from a focus on our Project Khulisa sectors, we are also ensuring that young people are able to take advantage of economic opportunities.

Since we took office in 2009, almost 8 000 young people have participated in our skills programmes. In the 2017/18 financial year, we are investing R63 million into skills development and we have set ourselves the target of training 32 500 young people by 2019.

Both tourism and agriculture are demanding sectors, and do not keep traditional office hours. We have been able to see exceptional growth in these focus areas due to the commitment of the hard-working residents of this province.

On this Worker’s Day, I would like to extend my thanks to these residents. Your contribution is valued and it is through your efforts that our economy continues to grow.

Thank you.