Is skills development really transforming?
By: Jianele Gabriel, COE of Workwise Training Network
Prior to 1994, apartheid created discrimination that not only kept the South Africa black population from participating fully in business and government, but also prevented them from obtaining a proper education.
This has resulted in a shortage of qualified managers and supervisors to fill key positions in organisations today. It is therefore urgent for government to educate and train the current population – South Africa’s future workforce. With this view and in order to meet the standards of being a global player they are endorsing legislation and creating programs to develop employees, whilst building a national framework for lifelong learning.
The Skills Development Act was promulgated to increase investment in education and training, right historical wrongs, encourage employers to use their workplaces as active learning environments and support partnerships between the public and private sectors to meet the standards of the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA).
Prior to this, the public sector used training material which did not need to meet any specific standards of “accreditation” and as a result this was often sub-standard and has been referred to as “Bantu education for business.”
Transforming a national education and training system is an enormous task and requires vast amounts of money. Funded largely via the Skills Development Levies Act which is an additional cost to organisations (a portion of which gets reimbursed), the workforce should now be trained in a structured manor – thus benefiting employees, organisations and South Africa as a whole.
There are now organisations and institutions that offer superior local and international material along with service levels that are exemplary.
Through constant development and training of management and employees in customer service, supervision, management, team leadership, communication, assertiveness, number accuracy and speed, performance management, presentation skills, ethics and morality, and business productivity, performance levels and staff productivity can be improved to world class standards.
The Batho Pele principle, Sesotho for ‘People First’, is the name given to the Government’s initiative to transform the delivery of public services. Their eight principles include: consultation; service standards; access; courtesy; information; openness and transparency; redress, and value for money.
It is essential that all organisations work inline with the Batho Pele concept. This will ensure that their resources are geared towards service delivery, internal procedures are correctly implemented and training is accurately adhered to. The money that each organisation invests in these processes will provide better services to more people and should lead to improved organisational effectiveness in the long term.
Improvements the public need to see are not derived of additional resources and don’t cost anything. They include courtesy, respect, adequate information and an apology if things go wrong. It is a matter of adopting different standards of behaviour. In keeping with the Skills Development Act, this is exactly what we want.
Training that results in changed behaviour and performance.
This is the way to move forward if both government and business want to make the skills transformation and development process work. Each organisation and department needs to tap into the structure of the organisation in a way that puts the people first. Focus on outcomes and producing results instead of continuously justifying incompetence. Insist on training that is proven in the international arena and measure the results.
For further information, visit www.workwise.co.za
About Workwise Training Network
Workwise Training Network, established 1983, is a leading provider of learning and performance enhancement solutions to organisations and government in South Africa. Workwise provides and facilitates soft-skills learning interventions, aimed at enabling Southern African businesses and business people to deliver world-class performance in the fields of supervision, management, leadership, customer service, sales, communication, performance management and number accuracy and speed.
Workwise Training Network was awarded Institutional Accreditation by Services SETA ETQA in 2002. All learning programmes have been awarded interim registration until 31 March 2005.
Contact
Jianele Gabriel, Workwise Training Network, (011) 476-7550, 082 551 9684, service@workwise.co.za
Debbie Lieberthal, Behind the Scenes, (011) 803-3050, 802 653 3802, debbie@behindthescenes.co.za
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