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Standardised
Training in the Public Sector
- A Case for Learning Frameworks -
Presentation
to the PSTF Conference
12th September 2006
Rufus M. Mmutlana
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Service Delivery through Training and Development
PRESENTATION FRAMEWORK
INTRODUCTORY
BACKGROUND
SOME CHALLENGES
REGARDING TRAINING IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE
NEED FOR STANDARDISED
TRAINING
CONCEPT OF
LEARNING FRAMEWORKS
PROPOSALS
ON THE HOW PART OF IT
SOME BENEFITS
FOR USING LEARNING FRAMESWORKS
CONCLUDING
PROPOSALS
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1. INTRODUCTORY BACKGROUND
00eople
are the lifeblood of any organization and the agents of reform and renewal
in public administration. The knowledge, skills, values and attitudes
of public servants are at the heart of state performance00Role of Human Resources in
Revitalizing Public Administration. Report of the Secretariat
to the Third Session of the Committee of Experts on Public
Administration, United Nations Economic and Social Council
Standardized
training therefore is necessary to codify this knowledge, skills, values
and attitudes.
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Background Cont00/b>
This codification
is therefore necessary in all sectors; e.g. multinational companies
serve as good examples in this regard.
This codification
is not necessarily perceived as regimentation, centralization or indoctrination
or even killing creativity in private sector organizations.
In the public
sector the concept of a developmental state as a core element of our
government, will surely urge us to consider some standardization in
our training.
If taken this
consideration will inter-alia ensure that government is able to steer
and implement cross-departmental coordination.
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2. SOME CHALLENGES
REGARDING TRAINING IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE
Use of different
terminology emanating from different training in all fields, except
may be in Finance and HRM
Use of different
tools and methodologies in implementing various government programmes,
e.g. strategic planning (BSC, RBP, etc) & project management processes.
Challenges
emanating from the different approaches on training and development
and they we articulate & fund training needs 00do we train for
future career or for performance in the current role?
Poor &
too broad articulation of training and development needs 00given providers
blank cheque.
No pre-entry
compulsory programmes (e.g. Malaysia & France)
We purchase
what is available, rather than working with providers to develop what
is required.
Different
service ethos between local and national government.
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3.
THE NEED FOR STANDARDISED TRAINING
Standardised
service delivery levels = standardised skill levels = standardised training
The level
of service that our citizens receive must be of a consistently high
standard in all departments and across all three spheres of gov.
Improved content
and relevance of training
Creating
a coherent framework for a multiplicity of training providers, both
within and outside of the public service
Portability
of skills 00movement and re-deployment within a 00ingle public service00
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4.
THE CONCEPT OF A LEARNING FRAMEWORK
Outlines core
areas in which the South African public service requires core managerial
and professional training
Provides a
00ommon language00for sourcing training, designing learning materials
and evaluating learning
Is based on
the competency requirements 00the competency framework00for managers
and officials
This concept
is intended to enable us to develop curricula that reflect the actual
skills and knowledge required by officials at different levels in the
public service.
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From competency frameworks
to learning frameworks
Competency
frameworks provide the basis for human resource management and development
activities in the organisation
Development
of job descriptions & recruitment
Organisational
structuring & design
Performance
agreements & management
Career pathing
& progression
Discipline
management
Learning
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Learning Frameworks
00
Describe in
clear and unambiguous terms what people need to know and be able to
do at all levels and in all positions within the organisation, and can
be used to:
Design learning
material
Contract with
training providers
Assess knowledge,
ability and skill
Including
standardizing training across all spheres of government
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In other words
00.
A learning
framework is established over all of the core, generic skills areas
in the public service.
It describes,
on the basis of analysis of competency frameworks, interviews with managers
and job incumbents, and benchmarking with international best practice,
what officials need to 00now and be able to do00
It may even
improve the understanding & implementation of the developmental
aspects of the PMDS in government
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5. PROPOSALS ON THE
HOW PART OF IT
Management v. Technical
Skills
Levels of the Organisation
Man/Leadership
Skills
Technical
Skills
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How do we turn this
into a Learning Framework?
Elementary
Intermediate
Advanced
Executive
Depth
of Learning
Levels
of Performance
Core
Learning Areas
Project
Management
Financial
Management
Human
Resource Management
Change
Management
Service
Delivery Innovation
Communication
Quality
Management
Note: Core learning areas and levels
of performance for illustrative purposes only
Overview
Some detail
More detail
Leadership
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What is in each of
these blocks?
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
OVERVIEW
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Takes ownership of key planning, budgeting
and forecasting processes and answers questions related to topics within
own responsibility;
Manages financial planning, forecasting
and reporting processes;
Prepares budgets that are aligned to
the strategic objectives of the organization/ department;
Addresses complex budgeting and financial
management issues;
Formulates long term financial plans
and resource allocations;
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The
00locks00in more detail
Within each
one of the 00locks00in the learning framework are a number of learning
outcomes, describing what people will know and be able to do once they
have been on the training.
These learning
outcomes should be written as unit standards, to ensure alignment with
SAQA (a unit standard title is a statement of learning outcome)
Officials
will therefore be able to 00uild00their skills and knowledge sets
in a manner which matches their career progression.
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6. SOME BENEFITS FOR
USING LEARNING FRAMESWORKS
We will be
in a position to be in charge of the content of our capacity initiatives;
Should be
able to support the single public project;
Complements
and takes forward the work done by DPSA and DPLG on competency framework
and work on unit standards;
There will
be some consistency in terminology, tools, methodologies and practices
will be in place for public sector making it easy for joint procurement
& exchange of services.
Involvement
of officials - the Secretariat to UN Economic and Social Council00
Committee of Experts on Public Administration advise that governments
00nvolve civil servants in the development of institutional frameworks
and professional standards00
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7. CONCLUDING PROPOSALS
The challenges
we are grappling with are not peculiar to South Africa;
CAPAM (Commonwealth
Association for Public Administration and Management) observed that
many training and development institutions (TDIs) face similar challenges
00like amongst others the absence of a central learning policy for
the public service.
We therefore
have to take stock of existing practices in our sector and together
build a path forward 00before things fall apart!
We can learn
from other countries and institutions where some elements of learning
frameworks have been used successfully.
It is crucial
that LEAD agencies are identified, endorsed and given a role to coordinate
and provide guidelines.
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THANK
YOU!
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