PRESENTATION TO THE GOVERNANCE & MONITORING CLUSTER

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES

IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE

14 November 2012

OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION

Introduction

Legislative Framework

Scope

Methodology

Main Findings

Reflection and analysis

Recommendations

Possible implementation strategy

Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

• The Public Service is a labour intensive employer dependent on the quality, skills and performance of its employees.

• It is critical that the policy framework for Human Resource Development (HRD) in the Public Service be monitored to help ensure that it achieves its objectives.

• The PSC undertook this study in order to determine whether – training and development is directed at the core skills the

departments need to deliver on their strategic objectives, appropriate monitoring mechanisms are in place to ensure

that training development plans are implemented accordingly and whether

the impact of such training is assessed.

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LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK

• Skills Development Act (SDA), 1998

The aim of this Act is to develop and improve the skills of the South

African workforce.• Skills Development Levies Act (SDLA), 1999

The aim of this Act is to prescribe how employers should

contribute to the National Skills Fund (NSF). Public Service

employers in the national and provincial sphere of government are

exempted from contributing to the NSF. • White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service, 1995

The aim of this White Paper is to establish a policy framework to

guide the introduction and implementation of new policies and

legislation aimed at transforming the South African Public Service.

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LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK (2)• White Paper on Public Service Training and Education

The aim of this White Paper is to provide a framework for Public Service training and education that is appropriate, adequate and accessible and meets the current and future requirements of public servants, the public service and the public.

• Human Resource Development Strategy, Vision 2015The aim of the Strategy framework is to provide guidance on the development of employees in the Public Service.

• Human Resource Development Strategy for South AfricaThe aim of this strategy is to maximise the potential of the people of South Africa, through the acquisition of knowledge and skills, to work productively and competitively in order to achieve a rising quality of life for all, and to set in place an operational plan, together with the necessary institutional arrangements, to achieve this.

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SCOPE

• The study was conducted within the

National and Provincial Departments of

Transport, Agriculture, Forestry and

Fisheries and Treasury.

• A total of 30 departments participated in the

study.

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• These departments were selected on the basis of the role they play

towards efforts to improve infrastructure, rural development and

poverty alleviation, as well as financial management, which were

identified as part of the key priority areas of government.

METHODOLOGY

The methodology followed in the gathering of data was as follows:

•A desktop study of previous reports produced by the PSC.

•A questionnaire was used during interviews with Managers

responsible for the Human Resource Development Practices within the

sampled departments.

•Strategic Plans, Human Resource Plans, Retention Policies,

Human Resource Development Strategies and Policies of the

sampled departments were obtained to ascertain whether sampled

departments understand the link and assess their compliance with the

DPSA’s Human Resource Development Strategy Vision 2015.

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MAIN FINDINGS

• Human Resource Plans, Human Resource Development Strategies and Policies 97% of the departments had developed and implemented HR

plans. o Department of Agriculture in the Northern Cape did not

have a five year Strategic Plano The national department of Agriculture, Forestry and

Fisheries did not have a HR Plan in place 53% of the departments had HRD strategies in place

o Even though they claimed to have utilized the DPSA HRD Strategy Vision 2015 as a guide, only 63% of these complied with the basic requirements for a HRD Strategy.

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MAIN FINDINGS (2)• Workplace Skills Plans (WSP) and Skills Audit

97% of the departments had WSPs in place. 56% of the departments had conducted skills audits, of which

only 13% of these departments had proof of a skills audit being

done. 43% of the sampled departments had never conducted a skills

audit, but expressed an interest in utilizing HR Connect. They

utilize the Personnel Development Plans of individual employees

to determine training needs. Even though training takes place, enough care is not taken to

ensure it is directed at the core skills departments need to

deliver on their mandates.

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MAIN FINDINGS (3)

HRD Structures and Committees•All the departments had Skills Development Facilitators (SDF) in

place and Human Resource Development / Training Committees.•38% of the sampled departments only had one SDF, whilst 29% had

two, and 4% had as many as nine SDFs. Most departments were of

the view that the number of their SDFs was inadequate. For

example, it was indicated that some departments with a staff

establishment of 4000 had 4 or 2 skills development facilitators in

place. •A common challenge across all the sampled departments was that

meetings of Committees were often postponed and a lack of

commitment, especially from management, being the cause.

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MAIN FINDINGS 4Assessment of Training and Development policies and programmes•60% of the sampled departments had Learnership policies and programmes in place. •Whilst the majority of departments had Learnership Programmes, these have not all been implemented due to a lack of funds. •90% had Internship policies and programmes in place.•The implementation of the Internship Programme within departments has been the most successful. •This is a positive sign given the fact that South Africa is faced with higher rates of unemployment especially among youth. •37% had Mentorship policies and programmes in place. •Reasons for non-compliance was the lack of understanding on how to establish such a programme, the lack of participation by staff as mentors (especially senior managers), financial constraints, unavailability of time for coaching and mentoring.

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MAIN FINDINGS 5Impact Assessment of Training and Development initiatives•None of the departments had a system in place to assess the relevance and impact of training and development initiatives.•Lack of capacity in HRD components leaves little time to do research on and to initiate a system in this regard. •Departments resort to relying on the information contained in IDPs/PDPs to assess relevance of training in relation to employee performance. •In some instances, service providers assessed the overall success of training by allowing the recipients of that training to complete an assessment questionnaire. As the questionnaires may mainly be subjective, with no actual on-the-job assessment of any improvement in the skills or the ability of the employee to do the work after such training, very little value can be attached to such assessments.

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One per cent (1%) Skills Levy •Most departments did receive the 1% and more from the budget for skills training and development. •Although budgets were allocated, the money was never enough.•The fact that most training and development courses had to be outsourced placed a strain on the budget.•The HRD budget was the first budget to be used to supplement other components in the event of shortages. Management Support•One of the main challenges which HRD practitioners said they faced in implementing HRD initiatives was the lack of management support. •Many departments cited that due to the lack of support of line managers, HRD units found it difficult to implement the practices effectively.

MAIN FINDINGS 6

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Support provided by the Public Sector Education and Training Authority (PSETA) and Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy (PALAMA)•Departments are experiencing support challenges with the PSETA.•The numerous templates that have to be completed are not user-friendly.•Only 10% of the sampled department use the services of PALAMA due to the fact that courses offered by PALAMA are expensive.•Delays were experienced in receiving invoices from PALAMA, and in some instances duplicate invoices were received. •Departments opted to utilise the services of tertiary institutions as they found them to be-

credible courses were accredited feedback from course attendees were provided

MAIN FINDINGS 7

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Support provided by other Training Academies•Some provinces have training academies that are regarded as efficient and effective. •The training was affordable, was due to the fact that these academies fall under the umbrella of the Offices of the Premiers and courses were presented by permanent training staff employed by the Offices of the Premier. •In the event that these academies had to make use of the services of an external service provider to conduct training in certain areas, the price would be negotiated for the Public Service.

MAIN FINDINGS 8

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REFLECTION AND ANALYSIS

• The overall picture that emerges is a worrying one: a highly challenging HRD framework, implemented in a formalistic, cursory fashion in ways that are oriented towards compliance with requirements without achieving performance-driven results.

• Evidence of this is the widespread incidence of (1) plans without strategies and (2) WSPs without audits: processes and activities without clear outcomes.

• To a larger part, the lack of rigour in implementing the HRD framework seems to be a consequence of a lack of both capacity and commitment by public service leaders to the HRD function and practice.

• HRD is not seen as a strategic priority area and the focus is more on routine compliance (as opposed to performance and improvement in learning organisations.)

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REFLECTION AND ANALYSIS 2 • Monitoring and evaluation of the performance and impact of training

and other capacity building interventions requires rigour and capacity, which is currently inadequate.

• This is a major concern and unless it is addressed performance in this area will not improve.

• This failure to ensure that a major investment by the public service in a specific area of activity is achieving a return needs to be addressed.

• This is further evidenced by the sustained use of consultants to provide core services, e.g.

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1 2010/11 Annual Report 18

REFLECTION AND ANALYSIS 3

• The high vacancy rates are also indicators that skills acquisition and development strategies are not adequately addressed.

• More than half of the national and provincial departments at the SMS/professional level have a vacancy rate of above 10%1.

REFLECTION AND ANALYSIS 4

1 PERSAL as on 30 June 2012 19

• At the SMS a range of competencies are required, including:Flexibility and agility in problem solvingThe ability to analyse the macro/global situation and its relationship to

micro/local conditionsFormulation of a variety of solutions and possibilities in diverse situationsUnderstanding of socio-economic and political contexts and how they

articulate within global governance systems

REFLECTION AND ANALYSIS 5 • The strengthening of the key institutions involved in this terrain is a

priority: HRD initiatives must be supported by a PSETA and a PALAMA that functions optimally.

• Departments are grappling with the implementation of the HRD framework, which is regarded as complex and challenging.

• Insufficient account appear to be taken of the very limited capacity of the HR functions in public service entities to implement their directives.

• The implementation of HR Connect is a critical success factor that must be accelerated.

• It is interesting to note that provincial academies are for the most part functioning well: the reasons for their success should be identified. Should the possibility of establishing them in provinces that do not have them be considered?

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RECOMMENDATIONS

• Departments need to develop the requisite capacity to comply with the legislative and policy frameworks necessary for HRD.

• They also need to ensure that they have the necessary strategies and policies in place and there should be consequences for non-compliance.

• Departments must implement their programmes as budgeted for and must be held accountable for the spending of the funds.

• All departments must comply with the HR Connect requirements to ensure that they are aware of their currents skills as well as the skills gap that needs to be addressed by targeted recruitment and/or training interventions.

• Departments should ensure that an understanding of skills form the basis of the WSP and not individual Performance Development Plans.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

• Top management must provide the necessary support to HRD

components, provide the resources and ensure that monitoring

systems are in place to measure the returns on training investments.• The DPSA needs to develop a tool for departments to be more

accountable for the 1% Skills levy. • Departments need to provide an extensive expenditure report to the

DPSA on the training conducted within their departments for each

financial year. Reasons for non-expenditure must be provided.• The PSETA should play a more developmental role within

departments and should also monitor whether training as outlined in

the WSP is actually conducted by the departments.

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POSSIBLE IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY

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• Leadership in developing common curricula for the South African Developmental State – Entry level certification for recent graduates Foundation and Promotion Programmes Masters in Leadership and Public Management Senior Executive Training Middle Management Training Local Government Training Government Employment Programme Sustainability Training

• Establishing a series of partnerships- PALAMA, Higher Education and Training, Provincial and Local

governments South African Universities, SETAs and FET Colleges. International universities for Senior Executive Management Training Research partnerships Private Sector Partnerships

CONCLUSION

• Although there have been HRD strategies and policy frameworks in place and a greater sense of implementation of WSPs by departments, many challenges still remain for HRD managers wanting to make a significant contribution to departmental performance.

• It is evident that if the challenges that were raised by the PSC are not addressed, government will continue to invest in training and development interventions that yield fewer results, thus compromising service delivery.

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THANK YOU!THANK YOU!

PSB Website: PSB Website: www.psc.gov.za

National Anti-Corruption Hotline for the Public Service: 0800 701 701National Anti-Corruption Hotline for the Public Service: 0800 701 701