3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Do skills development and training promote professional and organisational development in the broadcasting information technology (BIT) unit of a broadcasting company?(2010-03-02T09:16:44Z) Hoosen, NaziraThe information technology (IT) industry in South Africa has undergone major technological changes, and continues to do so. These changes are dynamic and demand significant interventions on the part of the workforce. If an organisation is to change, then systemic and sustainable changes are essential. Hence, a prerequisite is that employees within this industry need constantly to improve their knowledge and skills. The study was conducted within the broadcasting information technology (BIT) unit of a broadcasting company in South Africa. The aim of the research was to determine if skills development and training promotes professional and organisational development. A case study methodology within the qualitative paradigm was employed. Data was collected through a questionnaire, interviews, observations and document analysis. The research explored crucial issues in training and development in relation to professional and organisational development. The research findings indicated that perceptions of the success of skills development programmes far outweighed perceptions of failure. The research concluded that skills development and training programmes promote professional development. Organisational development, however, was promoted only to the extent that employees remained in the employ of the organisation. In addition, this research suggests that there is scope for future research in this field.Item Private technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and national development : The South African reality(2008-12-01T10:16:51Z) Akoojee, SalimThis thesis examines the extent to which the private Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Sector in South Africa is responsive to national development. National development is understood as associated with a range of socio-economic imperatives which include challenges of poverty, unemployment, inequality, the ravages of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and its associated impacts. In addition to these, the educational component of national development is to ensure access, redress and equity, which are necessary to undo the impacts of an apartheid-related skills regime. Skills development is considered a crucial means to respond to these challenges. Without skills for formal and informal labour markets, as well as productive self-employment, South Africa’s capacity to respond to the new globalised era is likely to be considerably stunted and will negatively affect its developmental trajectory. The methodology used in this study included a mix of quantitative and qualitative strategies to obtain the size, shape and nature of provision. The quantitative component, undertaken in the course of 2002, was supplemented by randomly chosen qualitative case studies. Together, they provided the basis for unravelling a sector distinct in nature, form and content. Developing a comprehensive typology provides important insight into responsiveness of a sector characterised by wide-ranging provision forms. The typology of provider type based on profitability and form, i.e. ‘for-profit’, ‘non-profit’ and ‘in-house’ providers, was replaced with a multi-dimensional model. Learner type, as a primary typological category, includes the ‘pre-employed’, ‘unemployed’, the employed ‘self-funded employee’ and the ‘corporate client’. Provider types responding to these learner types are distinguished on the basis of location, delivery patterns and programming. The various provider forms include ‘multi-providers’, ‘specialist providers’, ‘consultants’, ‘in-house’ and ‘non-profit’ providers. Provider purposes include those responding to employment, either formal labour market or self-employment, and self-development, including leisure-related skilling and lifelong learning. Learner types and training purpose determine the manner, form and characteristics of provision. This understanding of a widely divergent and heterogeneous sector provides the context for assessing its contribution to national development in South Africa. The notions of responsiveness and receptiveness are used as conceptual devices to assess the role of the sector. Responsiveness describes specific labour market purpose, while receptiveness refers to the social development and educational imperatives of access, redress and equity. The sheer size of the sector suggests an important demand-led element of provision and represents an important measure of receptiveness to national development prerogatives. The conservative estimate of 706 884 learners, located at 4178 sites for 864 providers that pre-registered with the Department of Education in 2001, provide the basis for serious consideration of the sector. The sector adequately responds to the immediate short-term needs of employers. Programmes offered for corporate providers respond more deliberately to their immediate short-term skill requirements and which has made it possible for them to outsource a considerable proportion of their training. In addition, there is no other education and training form flexible enough to provide for the training needs of employees, and sometimes the customers of corporate concerns, as in product upgrading and support, at times and locations suitable to their requirements. Private providers did not necessarily have more linkages with the formal labour market than do public providers and are not necessarily able to secure more effectively employment opportunities for their pre- and unemployed learners With respect to receptiveness, the sector comprises learner patterns consistent with national demographics. The sector is associated with an older, employed learner type, typically enrolled in shorter-term courses. This demonstrates the sector’s accessibility. In comparison with their public counterparts, costs were not prohibitive and programme structure allowed adequate flexibility to enable learners to weave in and out of the system. Variable admission requirements also allowed learners to slot into appropriate levels. The absence of data makes comparative judgements of throughput, and quality, with public institutions difficult to make. The current need to regulate all providers equally may not be the most efficient way of dealing with the sector. In light of the national development prerogative to protect those most vulnerable from the risk of market failure, there is need to grant support to those providers most responsive to this group - in this instance, those ‘full time’ providers responding to the pre- and unemployed learner set. The market adequately regulates providers responding to the employed and corporate client groups.Item Proletariat atrophy: the city of imagination ceased space(2008-10-09T10:10:01Z) Daley, Dassault DouglasItem The impact of municipal skills development programmes on the informal trading sector: Johannesburg (2001-2006)(2008-04-10T09:28:05Z) Radebe, Nkosinathi WitnessThis research report investigates the impact of skills development programmes on the informal traders in the City of Johannesburg (COJ). The research would like to determine if skills development provided by municipality has benefited individual traders, in terms of financial performance and increased employment. The researcher will ascertain the progress between informal traders who receive training and those who did not participate in the training programme. The report would further establish if there were any impacts at all. Was the impact directly influenced by municipal training or was because of some externalities such as trader’s innovation or trader’s organisations? To what extent has training been able to reduce the skills gap in the informal business? This research is responding to the lack of previous work on the impact of training offered to informal traders. There is a strong commitment on the part of COJ to dialogue with informal traders. Informal trading is regarded as integral part of broader economy (The Star: 2006: 21). The research was conducted through in-depth interviews with informal traders operating at Metro Mall in the City Business District (CBD). The researcher conducted interviews with service providers and municipality. The hypothesis suggests that informal traders who receive training are more productive than those who did not participate. The lack of skills in the informal business prompted the COJ to deliver skills training in an attempt to improve the condition of the informal traders. (Simon McGrath 1994), referred to this scenario as “planning for what was traditionally unplanned”. The argument is that training does not make successful informal traders. The report will argue that while training is important to informal traders who arrive in Johannesburg lacking skills, training should be monitored and be accompanied by incentives for example to help those who may not have a start-up capital. The selection criteria will have to be reviewed such that most informal traders are given equal opportunity to acquire skills necessary for the development of their business. As long as these factors, remain un-addressed there are limited potential growth in the informal business. Training should be an integral process linked to various structures such that survivalist activities are replaced by sustainable entrepreneurial business. The duty of the planners as the practitioners in the built environment is to ensure that informal trading coexist with formal business without one affecting negatively on the other. They also have a duty of influencing municipal decision-makers in ensuring that informal traders training programmes reinforce the enabling environment that would allow them to benefit and improve their business undertakings. This may be accomplished by restricting competition from illegal informal traders operating outside the mall, providing incentives to informal traders after the training and organise special events that would attract more customers at the mall. This is because “planning is a profession concerned with the management and development of human beings and their settlements within urban and rural settings. It is about the organisation of human activity in a way that will help to realise their hopes and dreams for future” (www.wits.ac.za/depts/wcs/archschool.html).