ANNEXURE D - Learnership Agreement ANNEXURE E - Learnership Project Plan
2.6 PUBLIC RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
programmes such as learnerships have been legislated (Awortwi & Sitoe, 2006: 3).
The roll-out of learnerships in the public sector is dependent to a large extent on public resources. The ensuing discussion focuses on the importance of public resource management in the South African public sector.
• The increase in demand from a democratic society whose majority was previously marginalised with regard to provision and allocation of basic goods and services;
• A huge debt inherited from the previous regime;
• A severe lack of skilled labour;
• Corruption within the public sector, and
• Increase in crime levels.
As these examples attest, the effective and efficient management of public resources poses a challenge for the public manager specifically, and the overall practice of public management. The afore-mentioned points contain both internal and external environmental considerations that a public manager ought to take cognizance of in managing public resources. Learning and development interventions from management ought to be considered in equipping public managers to effectively utilise personnel and scarce resources responsibly. This position is an important focus of this discussion on the learnership in internal auditing.
Figure 2.4 provides an illustration of the context of public resource management within public administration, and highlights its relevance to skills development. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa is the supreme legislation and informs all other promulgated legislation and organisational processes and procedures, such as the management of public human resources. Learnerships being a skills development initiative, are a legislated training intervention emanating directly from the Skills Development Act (Act 97 of 1998).
Figure 2.4: A model outlining the context of public resource management.
South Africa has a diverse societal mix, globalised economy and developmental superiority in Africa. This results in new and dynamic challenges, a continuously changing economic landscape, innovative entrepreneurship and an increasingly demanding society. In this context, public resource management is informed by the importance of values. Value proposition is the electorates mandate to government and its inclusion as one of the Batho Pele Principles is an indication of its inherent importance. It is one of the criteria by which government is evaluated.
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa
Public Administration &
Management
Managerial Processes
Analytical Tools Public
Resource
Information Resources
Public Human Resource Management &
Development
Organisational Behaviour Policy Analysis
Natural Resources Technological
Resources
Financial Resources
Performance appraisal Compensation
management
Skills
Development
Learnerships Recruitment
& Selection
Labour relations
Leads to an accredited qualification
Continuous assessments take place
The learner earns while he/she learns
Enables structured practical learning
2.6.1 Values and its relevance to the skills strategy in South Africa
The nation’s value systems also shape the way government handles problems. Society places a high value on rationality and efficiency, that is, solving problems with the least expenditure of resources. The benefactors of this important task ought to be imbued with the necessary skills and competences to remain effective (Levine, 1990: 5).
Dictionary.com: online defines values as the ideals, customs, institutions, etc.
of a society towards which the people of the group have an affective regard.
The Cambridge University dictionary defines values as the beliefs people have about what is right and wrong, and what is most important in life which controls their behaviour (http://dictionary.cambridge.org).
Furthermore, Starling (1998: 151) states that values are simply things or relationships that people would like to have or enjoy. A system of shared beliefs or values underpins any institution as emphasised by Klinger (in Schwella et al., 1996: 15).
Values compete with one another. Organisations constantly face competition among values depending on the model or approach used. For example, the human relations model emphasises flexibility in internal processes and improving morale and cohesion as a means of developing people in an organisation. The internal process model also focuses internally, but with emphasis on control through maintaining sound information, auditing and review systems. The open systems model emphasises responsiveness to the environment with flexibility in structure and process as a means to acquire and utilise resources effectively and efficiently. The rational goal model emphasises careful planning to maximise efficiency. It can be argued that central to these models is the need for relevant and effective skills empowerment (Rainey, 1991: 216-7).
Values also complement one another. For example, efficiency effectiveness and economy are required to ensure optimum functionality of an organisation.
This may pertain to goods production, service provision or resource utilisation.
Furthermore, values also shift or change because of intra-organisational transformation or changes to the political or economic landscape. Ultimately, public organisations and managers must balance or concurrently manage the shifting in changing or competing values.
The following pertinent Constitutional values are of significance to the research study on learnerships:
2.6.1.1 Constitutional values
Basic values and principles governing public administration in South Africa are enshrined in section 195 (1) of the Constitution. Central to the effective and efficient functioning of public administration are values such as:
• A high standard of professional ethics;
• Services must be provided impartially, fairly, equitably, and without bias;
• Public administration must be accountable;
• Efficient, economic, and effective use of resources, and
• Good human resource management and career development practices, to maximise human potential, must be cultivated (Act 108 of 1996).
2.6.1.2 Democratic Values
Democratic values underpin the representative systems of governance and public administration and include representation, legitimacy, transparency, responsiveness and accountability (Schwella et al., 1996: 15).
2.6.1.3 Economic Values
Every country has an imbalance between resources and the demand for societal services. Economic values such as efficiency, effectiveness, economy and productivity are vital in determining how a country and its public administration attempt to balance that equilibrium. The shaping factors here
would be its national economic and fiscal policies and the level of skills initiatives (Schwella et al., 1996: 16).
2.6.1.4 Administrative Responsibility
Administrative responsibilities are values relevant to public administration.
There are various aspects but the most important ones are cited hereunder as follows:
• Responsiveness – governments ability to react by providing timeous solutions (Starling,1998: 153);
• Fairness – ensuring that justice and equality is upheld;
• Flexibility – a diverse society like South Africa requires endemic and society driven solutions;
• Honesty – administration’s obligation to provide and the public’s right to know the truth;
• Accountability – an organisation must be answerable to the society it serves, and public officials must bear responsibility for their actions;
• Competence – public resources such as its limited skills base ought to be dispensed and utilised optimally, and
• Professionalism – an application of and commitment to the highest standards of morality and service by all public resource managers (Schwella et al., 1996: 17).
The above discussion is by no means a comprehensive list of values that ought to guide the proper functioning of public resource management. They are mere broad outlines that play no small part in influencing the decision- making processes. This research centres on skills development which finds reference in human resource management, which is a key sub-component of the broader discourse of public administration.