Identifying and developing skills for the Public Service Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI)

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Felix Barnett
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1 Identifying and developing skills for the Public Service Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) PSETA 2 nd Research and Skills Colloquium, Birchwood Conference Centre, March 2015

2 Background PARI Wits affiliated institute which focuses on academic and applied research on the state (organisations, institutional environment) PSETA and PARI: MOU to support capacity development in skills planning. Developed framework to guide the analysis of the demand and supply of skills in the public service to strategically identify the priority skills in the public service Towards developing a capable state (NDP)

3 Strategic policy environment Builds on the reviews of various central departments (DPSA, Treasury, DHET), HSRC, the NDP, academic studies, and takes into and the policy direction of the National Integrated HRD Plan

4 The SA Public Service Non-profit organisation (NGO/CBO), 1.20% National/provincial /local government, 21.20% Do not know, 0.10% Government controlled business (e.g. Eskom; Telkom), 2.90% A private enterprise, 74.30% A private household, 0.20% Source: Quarterly Labour Force Survey, 1 st Quarter 2014, Statistics South Africa

5 The SA Public Service

6 Tacking stock What have reviews of training over the last 20 years told us? Many public servants received training; substantial funding spent, but return on investment on average low, esp. in relation to the impact on public sector performance Retention and achievement rates very low; Much of the training in the form of short courses insufficient to deal with skills gaps; uneven qualify of training Training outside workplace challenges to integrating training into organisational setting (DPSA, 2013; NPC, 2012; PSC, 2011; PSETA, 2011; Pillay et al, 2011). Departments often not shaping training strategically: not in line with organisational goals and requirements for improved organisational performance

7 Approach Skills development in isolation will not yield a more capable state, skills development must be integrated with wider organisational development initiatives if it is to be effective (DPSA, 2013b). The identification of priority skills and training needs should be shaped by an analysis of the major drivers / inhibitors of public sector organisations performance in South Africa.

8 Framework Understand the nature of the South African state Understand the drivers of organisational performance in the post-apartheid period - Which competencies have been linked to successful turnarounds? Which competencies are key to organisational development? Consideration of PSETA s mandate and focus on transversal skills Identify state capabilities needed to implement the National Development Plan Identify particularly critical skills emerging from policy developments and major state projects Prioritise skills that are most needed to improve organisational performance (not simply those identified by PDPs) Use quantitative data where available, qualitative sector studies and studies which analyse the institutional challenges to improved service delivery and accountability

9 To arrive at priority scarce and critical skills why not simply analyse Persal and WSP data? Persal data uneven not reliable at detailed level of occupational data Workplace Skills plan data very uneven and not reliable for demand analysis data capture poor (treated as compliance) EVEN if data capture improved 100% this would not provide sufficient insight into which skills to prioritise: It only tells us where labour shortages lie, not where competency gaps lie aggregating individual PDPs is an indicator of the preference for training by personnel it does not tell is if this is the most appropriate focus for developing the department s ability to deliver on its mandate

10 What does the Persal data tell us about scarce skills? Persal data on those employed under Public Service Act: Vacancy rates highest in technical and professional occupations, including artisans Highest in absolute numbers in administrative and managerial occupations (more of these positions in the public service) But note that data at the detailed occupational level not good enough basis for identifying scarce skills

11 What do a range of qualitative studies tell us? Qualitative studies DHET s top 100 skills in demand in the SA economy: engineers, technicians and artisans dominate the list. Skills needed to roll out government s strategic infrastructure projects (construction management, GIS, other build environment professionals) Skills needed to help transition to Green Economy (New Growth Path) Urban planners HR, financial management, SCM management not shortage of labour, but weak capacity (with regional variation) Managers no shortage of applicants but weak capacity to turn high level strategies into detailed plans and build processes to deliver on these plans

12 This data is not a sufficient basis for choosing priority skills PSSC: Skills development in isolation will not yield a more capable state, skills development must be integrated with wider organisational development initiatives if it is to be effective (DPSA, 2013b). The identification of priority skills and training needs should be shaped by an analysis of the major drivers / inhibitors of public sector organisations performance in South Africa.

13 Drivers of organisational performance Capacity in SA public service highly uneven Yet many departments in the public service are well functioning organisations able to deliver on their organisational mandate and staffed by personnel who have a strong professional ethos. What has been key to developing this organisational capacity?

14 Drivers of organisational performance HR and HRD Stabilising senior management Strategic placement of HR Effective and autonomous HR and HRD Substantial attention to recruitment, training and mentorship

15 Drivers of organisational performance Managers who are operationally inclined (i.e. not devolving this to junior staff) (SARS, improvements in Home Affairs) Attention to building basic administration, systems and processes

16 Drivers of organisational performance Effective procurement 42% of government budget spent on procurement (high by international standards) Role of public servants has changed from that of administration to that of managing contracts Quality of service delivery often depends on how well contracts are negotiated and enforced Effective and transparent SCM has been fundamental to organisational performance given the current model of public administration.

17 Priority skills Human Resource and Human Resource Development Supply Chain Management Management skilled in detailed programme planning, project management and designing processes Sector specific skills required to deliver on a department s mandate These competencies are the preconditions for: Retaining staff long term building institutional memory Attracting the best skill Effectively mentoring and training new graduates and interns

18 Successful training approaches adopted in the Public Service Departments built partnerships with education institutions to provide the most appropriate form of sector specific training for staff (sector specific training aimed at developing both technical and generic skills). Long term secondment of expertise from other departments, and outside the public service prioritised over outsourcing used to build skills of new staff. Where skills gaps are related to lack of knowledge of a very specific task, staff take part in cost-effective training (e-learning for e.g.) Where these gaps are more profound, they need to include mentoring and or coaching, possibly supplemented by longer-term classroom based training.

19 What does it take to build this capacity to effectively train? Lessons from international experience

20 Discussion

Approaches & methods of understanding occupations in high demand: A review of the evidence and recommendations for moving forward

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