It provides the background for the evaluation and analysis of the field research against which perceptions of the Skills Development Act will be measured in the following chapters. Perceptions of the skills premium in relation to the perceived global competitiveness of South African firms.
Data Collection & Analysis
The questionnaires were specifically distributed to CEOs, Operations Managers or their designated representatives who were mainly involved in investment decisions or decision-making in their various companies. The structured part of the questionnaire consisted of a variation on the Likert scale from 1 to 5. See appendix for questionnaire template).
Theoretical Framework
Cost concepts in Economics
Transaction cost analysis emphasizes that companies incur costs to do business, such as the cost of writing and enforcing contracts. The transaction costs of writing and executing complex contracts across a market "vary with the characteristics of human decision makers involved in the transaction on the one hand, and the objective characteristics of the market on the other."
The short run versus the long run
Depending on the size of the company, the 1% of the qualification fee can be a minimal or significant amount. When deciding to pursue education, people weigh the opportunity costs of time and money against the additional returns they expect to achieve.
Evaluating Training
Labour productivity
There is indeed a growing emphasis on learning in the workplace – but not necessarily on training. And although we could not imagine training without students, learning can take place in the absence of teachers.
Background to the Skills Development Act 97 of 1999
South Africa's world competitiveness
To address it, South Africa needs to design a holistic and integrated approach to education and training. The latest statistics from the Department of Labor reiterate the worrying situation of low education and lack of vital productive skills in South Africa.
The Skills Development Act 97 of 1999
It creates a link between workplace education and training and economic growth and employment opportunities. These acts were preceded in 1995 by the South African Qualifications Authority Act, which was jointly directed by the Ministers of Education and Labor through Parliament in 1995. The Act further requires SETA to formulate skills plans and future skills requirements for each sector.
In addition, they will fulfill a quality assurance role through the accreditation of providers of education and training and may set up apprenticeships or skills programs in partnership with provider institutions. Some students can sign a student contract (equivalent to an . apprenticeship). They are then assessed for their competence against a set of learning outcomes set by a standard-setting body in each sector. The effective implementation of the competence plan ensures repayment of part of the competence development fee that the company has paid.
Employers wishing to be eligible to claim back a portion (up to 70%) of the skills levy will be required to register with the relevant SETA and prepare and implement skills plans in accordance with the sector's skills plan to which the levy applies. includes the employer and enables their employees to obtain formal qualifications in terms of the National Qualification Framework (NQF). An employer who carries out education and training activities that fall outside the annual skills plans submitted to SETA cannot recover costs from the levy.
The National Qualifications Framework (NQF)
3 Higher Education and Training (HET) covers 5 - 8. According to the NQF, students can obtain qualifications related to the above levels in any of the following 12 subject areas. Ultimately, the purpose of the Skills Development Act is to serve as a strategic tool that can help business align education and training with overall business objectives. Having reviewed both the theoretical background on which this work is based and the South African context in the previous chapters, I will now turn my attention to analyzing the data of the exploratory study that was conducted to examine the perceptions of a sample of respondents in the service industry.
Figures B.l-B.9 provide details on the biographical data of the respondents who participated in this study. Reasons cited included increased staff turnover, especially in the security and cleaning sectors of the service sector. While 7% of total respondents said the levy had "increased" the amount they had previously spent by half.
As a result, service industries in Durban spent little on training prior to the promulgation of the Skills Development Act. As such, the introduction of a skills levy of 1% of gross wages appears to have increased the amount previously allocated to training for a total of 62% of respondents, albeit to varying degrees.
Perceptions of the Skills Act
Five percent of respondents 'strongly agree' that the Skills Act is not worth the administrative burden it imposes on implementation. Training under the Skills Act will likely lead to higher productivity in this company.' The training initiated by the Skills Act has increased the number of staff trained annually.'
Thirteen percent of respondents 'strongly agreed' that the Skills Act has increased the number of staff trained annually. Eight percent of respondents 'neither agreed nor disagreed', while 10% 'disagreed' that the Skills Act had increased workforces and 5% 'strongly disagreed' that the Skills Act had increased the number of people training in their field. organization. About 37% of respondents believe that the law could improve innovation and mobility, while 20% disagreed that training provided by the Skills Act could improve mobility.
The respondents who believe that the Competency Act could not put them out of business were those who had received some repayment or at least knew they could do so. The Skills Act will address the problems of skills shortages in South Africa in the medium term.'.
Correlations
However, they were not aware that the student scheme introduced by SETA corresponds to the apprenticeship programme. This probably means that most companies are not yet fully informed about SETA's programs. And PS variables 4 ('Education initiated by the Skills Act is likely to lead to increased productivity in this company') and. The Competence Act could put us out of the market').
Biography Biography Biography PSI0 ns of the ical data ical data ical data skills act 4 B6 Pearson. The correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (two-tailed). The Skills Development Act could put us out of business'). These findings suggest that people who have been in their current role and in the business for longer believe that the requirements of the Skills Development Act are unlikely to cause their respective businesses to fail.
One-way ANOVAs of the different biographical variables and the TOPS instrument revealed only one significant finding, viz. a significant difference between mean scores on the TOPS scale and ethnic groups. However, a very preliminary exploratory examination of this data suggests that black ethnic groups (including Indian and Coloured) may have a more positive perception of the Skills Development Act than the white group.
Discussions of findings
This seems plausible, as a major. beneficiaries of the Skills Development Act are members of the black ethnic group. With the confusion surrounding the administration of the Skills Development Act, it is therefore not surprising that employers have negative perceptions of paying a skills levy. Retaining or being able to retain trained staff is perhaps one of the biggest reasons for negative perceptions of the Skills Act.
This stems from the fear that there is a high degree of mobility within certain sectors of the service sector. The time required for training represents another concern for most employers, which significantly affects their perception of the Skills Development Act. A situation that clearly does not help the skills development of the artisans they recruit.
To top it all, the inefficiency of SETA staff has significantly discouraged member companies and in some cases increased negative perceptions of the Skills Development Act. Still on the issue of implementation, it should be noted that SETA does not seem to understand that the implementation of the Skills Development Act involves a process of change.
CHAPTERS
- Administration
- Apprenticeship
- Training & Labour Turnover
- Research
In particular, SETA staff must be aligned with the organization's mission and goals in order to curb the apparent trends of complacency, inefficiency and laziness that have been reported. The SETA apprenticeship program is effectively equivalent to the proposed apprenticeship scheme. One area plagued by controversy is the absence of a standard curriculum for students.
However, if a standard curriculum were established, as in the case of Adult Literacy 1-4, much of the work of SETAs related to accreditation would be easier. The idea of engaging external SDFs (Skill Development Facilitators) in SETA activities is a laudable idea. South Africa absorbed nearly 57 percent of the people employed in the private sector and contributed 42 percent of gross domestic product.
Small-scale business accounts for approximately 85% of the Service SETA. It is therefore essential that provision is made to assist these small businesses in every possible way to build capacity and participate in all SETA activities. One of the major concerns of firms regarding employee training is the turnover rate once employees are trained.
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT ACT QUESTIONNAIRE
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
- Training initiated by the skills Act has increased the number of personnel being trained annually
- Training initiated by the skills Act has increased employee motivation in this company
- Training initiated by the skills Act has improved employee innovation and mobility
- The skills levy will boost training and make South African workers more globally competitive
- Training initiated by the Skills Act has improved employee innovation and mobility
- The Skills Act will correct the problems of skills shortages in South in the medium term
- Do you think there are other ways other than training for improving labour productivity in South Africa?
- Is there anything else you would like to add concerning your views on the Skilis Act?
PLEASE COMPLETE THE REQUESTED INFORMATION OR CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IN THE FOLLOWING BOXES PROVIDED FOR THIS PURPOSE. Please fill in the requested information or put a tick in the appropriate box for each question. By how many percent has the skills levy increased the amount that the company previously set aside for training.
The Skills Development Act is not worth the administrative effort required to implement it in your business. 11. The Skills Act is another tax burden that businesses have to bear without actually getting anything out of it. The Skills Act will correct the problems of skills shortage in the South in the medium term.
13. The Skill Levy should be increased from 1% to 4% of gross annual income as in some countries. 14.-.In addition to the Skills Levy, your company annually sets aside or allocates funds for training.
