Public Sector Skills Shortages and Solutions

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Comment by Johanna Buitendag (Joey) on September 30, 2009 at 13:06

I have 14+ years of experience in the Department of Justice and was passionate about the law, justice and prevention of crime. But unfortunately criminal activities (mostly employees with self interest at heart) form part of the department, just as it is in most of the departments now. Skills shortage? With ongoing programmes and courses we should not experience skill shortages, unless these programmes/courses/qualifications are outdated information presented by with no innovation or passion. Or could it be that the graduate cannot excercise their skills due to limitations/restrictions in the rules and regulations?

Comment by Tshabalala Ambilias Phofa on September 21, 2009 at 22:15

It has become clear recently that some of the key challenges faced by service delivery include skill shortage; skill misallocation; loss of skill (for various reasons). I therefore support all initiatives to minimise or control negative impact of skill shortage in the public sector. Training needs to be practical and pro-active to enhance the learners to apply what they learned and not only "enjoy having a certificate to support their CV's" in the future.

Comment by Des on September 21, 2009 at 14:09

I agree, for too long we've had "trainers" going into training rooms and delivering lectures to learners as opposed to interacting with learners and transferring knowledge through practical activities that can be demonstrated in the training rooms and applied back into the workplace. It is no wonder that most companies get ulcers when they hear of training gaps as all they see is downward shift in productivity and a hole in their budget instead of transparent return on investment.