Aligning employee training needs and workplace skills plan in the Limpopo Department of Health

Abstract

iii ABSTRACT Government Institutions are in terms of the Skills Development Act, (Act 97 of 1998), required to develop employees in order to achieve good and effective performance. The Act makes provision for the development of Workplace Skills Plan by government institutions and mandates these institutions, including Government Departments, to budget at least 1% of their payroll for training and development of employees. It is, however, not apparent whether or not the developed Workplace Skills Plans are in line with the employees training needs and training interventions. As a result, the essence of this study is to determine how to align employees training needs with the Departmental Workplace Skills Plan in the Limpopo Department of Health. In addition, the study investigates whether or not training interventions in the Limpopo Department of Health are informed by the identified skills needs. The type of research methodology used in this study is the quantitative approach, which is in the form of a structured questionnaire. The main finding of the study is that although the Limpopo Department of Health developed the Workplace Skills Plan, training interventions were not aligned to it. In addition, a large percentage of the respondents was not aware of the skills audit exercise that the Department undertook. This study also reveals that the post-training evaluation which was done by the Department did not contribute to important subsequent training interventions. The key recommendation made is that the Limpopo Department of Health should make employees aware of the skills audit exercise the Department often undertakes. Additionally, Personal Development Plans should be continuously used to identify pertinent employee training needs relevant for the Departmental Workplace Skills Plan KEY WORDS • Limpopo Department of Health • Workplace Skills Plan • Personal Development Plan • Skills Audit • Training Interventions • Training Needs Analysis • Employees Training Needs