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 2015
The aim of the Strategy framework is to provide guidance on the
development of employees in the Public Service.
• Human Resource Development Strategy for South Africa
The 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.
• 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.
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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 Plan
o 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 4
Assessment 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 5
Impact 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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MAIN FINDINGS 6
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.
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MAIN FINDINGS 7
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 userfriendly.
• 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
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MAIN FINDINGS 8
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.
Free State
• Training and
Development
Institute.
KwaZulu- Natal
• Provincial
Training
Academy
Gauteng
• City Region
Academy
Western Cape
• Provincial
Training
Academy
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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.
Department
Number of consultants
Cost (R,000)
Health
23
14 329
RDLR
Not indicated
253 121
Justice
156
50 456
SAPS
Not indicated
1 377
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REFLECTION AND ANALYSIS 3
Department
Number of consultants 1
Correctional Services
-
Cost (R,000)
R519,969
Communication
34
R7 522
Labour
31
15 549
Dti
124
24 445
COGTA
Not indicated
248 288
Public Works
11
226 501
Agriculture
6
2 988
Mineral Resources
10
4 317
Energy
35
15 465
Transport
Basic Education
1
2010/11 Annual Report
Not indicated
28
533
12 101
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REFLECTION AND ANALYSIS 4
• 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.
•
At the SMS a range of competencies are required, including:
Flexibility and agility in problem solving
The ability to analyse the macro/global situation and its relationship to
micro/local conditions
Formulation of a variety of solutions and possibilities in diverse situations
Understanding of socio-economic and political contexts and how they
articulate within global governance systems
1
PERSAL as on 30 June 2012
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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 noncompliance.
• 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
• 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
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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!
PSB Website: www.psc.gov.za
National Anti-Corruption Hotline for the Public Service: 0800 701 701