Human Resource Development Strategy for South Africa (HRD‐SA) 2010 – 2030

The most important strategic priority for South Africa leading up to the government term of 2010 to 2030 relates, on the one hand, to the challenge of reconciling the immense opportunities that flow from our successes and, on the other hand, to the immense challenges arising from our country’s development agenda. The peaceful transition to democracy, delivered through the commitment and forbearance of all South Africans, was followed by rapid gains in key areas of development, including:
 A favourable trajectory of economic growth;
 Dramatic improvements in the delivery of social services such as water and sanitation, housing and electricity;
 A dramatic increase in social grants; and
 A justifiable Bill of Rights.
However, many significant challenges remain. Our development agenda remains the central focus of public policy and forms the basis of collective endeavour in all spheres of our society. Some of the most intractable and urgent challenges that remain include:
 Poverty;
 Income inequality;
 Threats to social cohesion;
 Ongoing demographic (race, gender, age, class and geographic) inequities; and

 The impact of globalisation.
It is critical to mobilise our collective will to make credible interventions that will accelerate progress towards achieving South Africa’s development goals. The HRD-SA represents an essential intervention for promoting the country’s development agenda. The need to develop and implement a robust HRD strategy is as important today as it was at the outset of our democracy in 1994. The importance of HRD is recognised by government and shared by business, labour, non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) and the academic sectors of South African society. It also resonates with the significance attached to HRD in the international development discourse.