First Resorts achieves accreditation with the Tourism & Hospitality Sector Education Training Authority.

Straight from the training floor to my blog for you training tribe members. First Resorts, a client of ours that has been actively pursuing an enhancement and training department development project, has just achieved Tourism, Hospitality & Sport Education Authority (THETA) accreditation status.



Charne Webb, Varsha Budhram (pictured above yesterday)and the First Resorts management team commitment has shone through. Although vocational training accreditation within South Africa is often viewed as an onerous process it actually adds a few more arrows to the training quiver. Like any legalistic process the accreditation process for training departments can provide an excellent benchmark to review and reflect on existing training and development practice. First Resorts is already recognised as a top resort management company and considering that the resort business is all people and service-driven, it came as no surprise that the drive to develop and grow the staff into high performers as well as give them formal recognition for their expertise was an inevitable step.

That step has taken the team on a long journey into the unknown. We have been honoured to share some of this important process with Charne and Varsha. This process has seen the introduction of a quality driven framework as well as the development of resource-rich learning materials and most importantly, incorporating key requirements of the business and the resort operations.

Noting that most of the resorts employ rural staff with low literacy and education levels, we (First Resorts and Crucible Services) targeted this group of staff as the primary beneficiaries for accredited training programmes for the pilot phase of training. These programmes include a full year certificate in hospitality reception, the coal face of the resort business. Where service with a smile really does mean exactly that, no matter what time of the day or night or how you are feeling at the time.

The THETA decision in itself validates the training approach and vision of First Resorts, acknowledging the work and commitment of the training and development team over the last twelve months. At a higher level this supports the perspective of the executive in acknowledging the importance of staff to the business model and actually acting upon it in a decisive and pro-active way.

Well the next step in the process is to pilot the approved training at selected resorts and learn from its success and its challenges and continue to grow the offering of approved training.

The key learning here for other training departments is to consider a more comprehensive approach to training planning, by linking training projects to pilot projects where the training team can deliver on the current need of the departments, whilst testing the waters with other types of interventions. This kind of approach separates the traditional 'reactive-style' training department from that of a more proactive exploratory team that links new training interventions to business objectives whilst also supporting community and social development needs. First Resorts is proving that it is evolving into a triple-bottom line citizen that will play a sigificant role wherever it operates throughout South Africa.

In the global arena Technical and Vocational Training (TVET) is often the province of publicly managed education and training providers or institutions, but the training and education provision can be successfully delivered by key sectors in partnership with public frameworks.

This powerful partnership between business and the public sector can harness inherent strengths of both players in a creative and innovative fashion. The support from THETA during the process was excellent, thorough and focused. Achieving the common goal of people development and growth is the key issue here, not necessarily the architecture and structure of how it is done. The common language of people development is a powerful catalyst for both the private and public sector to collaborate and work on. Both role-players can acknowledge that they cannot do it on their own. That acknowledgement is key. Which is where we all need to be heading, people growth for rapidly changing world.

Skills development on the move to Higher Education & Training.

The national elections have come and gone with all the campaigns and promises to match. The split of the Education Department came as no suprise, as many educators and trainers have felt strongly that it was too cumbersome a portfolio for one department to handle. From early childhood development (ECD) through to workplace education and training it was a great challenge for Naledi Pandor to drive. Particularly because of the separation of powers with regards to the provincial departments which act fairly autonomously from the National Department and have proven to be rather badly managed. Ongoing logistical support problems for schools and colleges have been the order of the day for quite some time.

Our keen interest lies with Dr. Nzimande who as an ex-academic himself from the University of Natal heads into the hot seat driving both higher education as well as workplace training. A recent insider tip has skills development and its related organs all falling under his new department. Thus severing the ties with the Department of Labour and its key role in actively managing the skills development process in South Africa.

With the rather intricate legal mechanisms in place there will no doubts be a overhaul or series of major amendments to all the skills development, further education and high education acts to reflect this change. What does this all mean for us out there? Well it looks like the Sector Education & Training Authoritie's will fall under the new Higher Education and Training Ministry and that the skills levies and supporting funds like the National Skills Fund will be realigned to implement the new reality.

We can only congratulate the new Minister and wish him and his team the best of luck. We look forward to a more focused and integrated era under his watch. Hopefully some of the issues that plagued the Department of Labour (DoL)and the Department of Education (DoE) historically will not be a feature of the new structure moving forward. In my view policy development and project planning expertise has been lacking in both departments for quite sometime and a focus on integrated and joined-up policy is needed. Knowing that the new National Planning Commission is housed within the Office of the Presidency driven by Trevor Manuel provides some relief in sight for me. But rather than focusing on planning the concept of an integrated monitoring and evaluation system also housed within the Office of the Presidency provides even more hope. It is within that realm that skills development and training has suffered due to teh late detection of implementation issues of various public-led training projects. Particularly learnerships and related activities. It will be very interesting to see how the existing education and training quality assurance (ETQA) framework will contribute to the state led monitoring and evaluation (M & E) mechanisms.

Until then we are moving into our last month before submitting Workplace Skills Plans (WSP) and Annual Training Reports (ATR) to our respective SETA's. If you have not done so yet, I would sincerly suggest that you start your workplace training needs planning for the year ahead. Bear in mind that the skills levy and grant cycle runs from 30 June to 30 June over a twelve month period. So your plans for 2009-2010 and your report for the year 2008-2009 are almost due.

Make sure you have your registered skills development facilitator (SDF) working on it for you. A first step is designing a training needs analysis tool and reviewing the SETA template for the WSP submission which have all been loaded up on to the various SETA websites. If you are a large organisation you should be scheduling a training committee meeting to examine the companies training needs. I will be posting some more tips on skills and training planning for you all shortly.

Coverage of our work for CCN in the Sunday Tribune

Well several months of hard work with an incredibly dedicated team ably led by Mark Grant has fulfilled a long term vision of having a knowledge oriented construction portal serving both the information seekers such as Architects as well as Quantity Surveyors and the construction suppliers. With the irregular rhythm of the global economy constantly causing new bouts of uncertainty, positive projects like this always prove the old adage. That in times of adversity, opportunities abound, if you are willing to grasp them. Marks seminal vision and dedication to building a truly embracing service for the construction industry has been absolutely infectious. As you can tell, as a passionate sustainable development and training advocate such as myself has fallen for his dream of uusing the web to bring benefits to both the suppliers and users of construction related information.

It has been an absolute pleasure to have played a small role in the content development and team side of this stimulating and leading edge project. It is well worthwhile reviewing it if you have a chance. Even if you have absolutely nothing to do with the construction industry.

Whay would you ask? Well the entire concept incorporates the growing idea of green-ratings in the building and construction sectors as well as promotes knowledge creation and training to build expertise. The recent coverage of our work in the Sunday Tribune this past Sunday certainly supports Marks great efforts and vision using the web to drive the industry in new and exciting directions.

Great news, dtermined work pays off and the Tourism Education Authority visit scheduled for 20th May at First Resorts.

Outstanding news arrived today from Ebrahim Boomgard, the Education Quality and Assurance (ETQA) Manager at the Tourism, Hospitality & Sport Education Training Authority (THETA) has notified Charne Webb the Training & Development Managers at First Resorts Management.

This recent communication is the culminating point of over a year of focused projects and investment in the development of resort and head office staff to achieve higher and more stringent service outputs to meet the demands of an ever-discerning market. The need to create value for guests and simultaneously ensure staff development as a key route to empowerment and growth opportunities especialliy for rural balck staff resulted in first resorts taking the far-sighted decision to address both its skills needs, its equity challenges and the creation of opportunities for growing stagnant black staff into management over a sustainable vocational pathway.

First Resorts model combines a variety of short skills-based interventions, onsite coaching and accredited skills programmes shortly and with twelve months the first run of hospitality focused learnerships. I personally cannot wait for the accreditation site visit which will no doubts act as a confirmation of the existing great pratice that the team and company have, whilst also providing an opportunity to gain an external perspective with regards areas which need further development.

Well done team, as the external training and development company we take great pride and joy in seeing the opportunities for growth through focused accreditation and certification processes. Its not all just a paper trail. It can be a highly meaningful opportunity for company self-reflection, adoption of people-centred strategiges and ethos particularly in such pressing global times.

Adult literacy training a success at top resort management company

It has been fantastic to be associated with the development and drive to take First Resorts guest and member service to the next level. Through the sheer determination, talent and drive of Charne Webb the Training & Development Manager, the team and the resorts have benefited from the focused attention and direction provided. Charne has taken the time to evaluate the performance needs, investigate current service challenges and adddress staff development aspirations. Speaking to managers and staff members alike which has certainly brought a fresh approach to the First Resorts human management focus. All very admirable considering that her current team is very small and covers resorts across the depth and breadth of South Africa.

Over above this Charne is currently studying towards her higher certificate in occupationally-directed education training and development practice at the Business Studies Unit at the Durban University of Technology.Charne has brought a wealth of experience and academic grounding with her from her student days at the International Hotel School in Durban.

My direct involvment in facilitating and building a training and development system has been really easy working with such a strongly committed individual. As one of the first Resort Management companies to be on track to be accredited First Resorts has already been invited by the Tourism Sector Education Training Authority (THETA) to be able to implement publicly funded adult basic education training (ABET), targeting basic literacy and numeracy skills. Obviously a huge area of concern in South africa hwere the lack of basic reading and comprehension skills limits otherwise highly motivated individuals from advancing their careers, engaging in more demanding vocational training or developing their expertise further.

We look forward to the accreditation visit by the Tourism SETA Quality Assurance Department which will also give recognition to the high standards of training that First Resorts are delivering to their staff and even beyond to sub-contracting companies in the cleaning services environment. Charne well done to you and your team. Our next challenge is to offer fully-accredited learnerships in hospitality reception - the forefront of the guest and member experience. Hold thumbs for us.

Workplace Skills Plans and the state of the industry

Recently the Services Seta CEO Ivor Blumenthal addressed stakeholders at a series of national roadshows. He stated that he is not so happy about the Workplace Skills Plans (WSPs) that his Seta receives from employers in their sector.

“95% of WSPs we receive are fraudulent, and the majority are prepared by external SDFs,” says Blumenthal.

Well I think that the obvious key issue here is the prevailing perspective on the development of the WSP's. Many levy payers ultimately treat this as a compliance led exercise rather than a critical reason to conduct a thorough annual training and performance needs analysis for the organisation. According to Marius Meyer and others South African lacks key expertise in evaluating training and performance needs at organisational and local level, relegating it to a reactive role striving to get the levies back in the form of their grant.

The structure, composition and nature of the WSP and the needs analysis process leading to its development must be organisataionally focused, yet take cognisance of staff development and broader sectoral skills needs. To do a little extra benefits the sector and its skills pool, which is always a good thing.

South African corporate structure by and large still does not acknowledge the role of training and performance as a key strategic lever for business performance. We lag behind leading OECED states.

The USA by contrast has long recognised the need for director or executive level training and performance representation, with directors of learning and performance commonly held positions throughout corporate organisations. Interestingly these executives spend a significant amount of time focusing on the start and end of the training and development process. The needs analysis and return-on-investment (ROI) components whilst project managing the design, procurement and delivery of learning and performance interventions.

The legalistic approach by the SETA's as well as the corporatist lack of vision certainly complicates the issue behind the validity and the actual development of the content. As Ivor points out either low-skill level employees or external consultants fulfil this role. The consultants generally lack insight into the business performance needs and although can provide positive insights into the opportunities presented by levy compliance they often mislead or understate the commitment to monitoring and managing training performance for their clients.

A corporate has to have a clearly defined skills development policy, highlighting the key needs analysis procedures and associated templates and tools. In addition HR or Training Managers should include skills planning expertise as key performance indicators for remuneration, recognition and reward purposes.

Lastly the SETA WSP templates and reporting forms need detailed revision and should not just cover key labour market reporting statistical fields but be more formative and be a resource for conducting needs analyses.

That would benefit the levy payers and their employees to a far greater degree.

Training a real profession in a global workplace.

Good afternoon tribe members, I hope you are all well out there. It seems like it is that time of the year again for training and skills development professionals planning the new workplace skills plan or annual training plan, plus put the annual training report together for the SETA that you are registered with for feedback and grant claim purposes. For larger corporate organisations it can be quite daunting and let me give you a little hint here. Put the Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) together, use it as an opportunity to get your peer's in other departments inputs, leverage the process to get staff onboard.

Times might be tough, but by bringing the grants back in you demonstrate your value directly into the organisation and its leadership. This is a key area for all of us to focus on in the direct future. Providing quantifiable metrics and return on training investment is a key component that training professionals need to incorporate in their day-to-day operations. How can I bring more value into the organisation and how can the training department support the attainment of key organisational objectives? Ask yourself that. That question is really key to you moving from a process-reactive trainer mode to a proactive-objective trainer mode. A far better place to be in and to be leading from. Training or as the american society for training and development calls it workplace learning and performance (WLP) has come into its own. Have a look at this short YouTube clip below regarding the global view of training and development.



Now after that little bit of motivation and hopefully inspiration you will recognise how critical it is to be deeply involved in the key core business processes and not just conduct the usual training needs analysis at very micro or individual level. Just remember training 101, you have to include key organisational strategic needs and drivers in your needs analysis. Unfortunately the SETA's do not account for this in their workplace skills plan templates which most of use for our annual training planning activities. It is very process and evidence oriented and tends to target very oeprational needs. Now do not get me wrong, that is a key aspect of our roles, but not the only role that we must fulfil.

The use of social media is exploding across the world and with the advent of the new Seacom cable landing on our shores at Mtunzini this year we should see some significant decreases in broad-band and internet costs.

Already internet service providers like MWeb and Neotel and others are offering substantial discounted bundles and packages for individuals and organisations. So why am I telling you this? Consider using social media in your organisation to assist you with needs analysis and staff engagement and training programme identification. I bet your marketers or customer services staff are either considering it or are already using social media in their marketing and service mix. You might be using some social media applications yourself like Facebook or Skype, maybe LinkedIn.

Consider how you could deploy these in your organisational and create a social-media enabled integrated training strategy.

On that note please complete this short poll on social media. I would like to get an idea about how many organisations are using social media in their integrated social-media training strategy. Chat to you all soon.

The challenge of creating a learning organisation.

In my previous posting I alluded to Peter Senge and his seminal work on the concept of a learning organisation. This is often one of the most challenging tasks facing a training manager or human resources professional. To somehow enculcate a culture of learning within their organisations. As demonstrated by the annual American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) research conducted globally the learning and performance culture is a growing issue, one now seen as critical to organisational adaptability and growth. A culture of safety to learn needs to be developed in your organisation. Empowering staff to feel that they can speak up regarding issues without the fear of being marginalised or punished in some fashion is an absolute necessity.

Lets be be clear, a learning culture requires a tolerant culture, supporting processes and tools, action-oriented review and feedback processes (after-action-satisfaction) and how do we apply what we have learned. As you can see it is not just training as usual and sounds like quite a challenge. In some cases yes, but it is up to us as training managers to demonstrate the value that we add from the local action level right through to the board room in the traditional strategic value analysis domain. Lets be honest tradition states that the executive determines which activities and departments are adding or creating organisational value and we all know that this is generally viewed from a cost/benefit and revenue/profit approach. Do not worry this can be tackled and you can make it work for you. Even in difficult economic times.

Here is a little task for you. Do online search for executive level positions in South Africa and one for the United States. The results will speak for themselves. Please get back to me I would be interested in your inputs and what you have to say. The challenges of training in an organisational environment that is inherently hostile or training-neutral is often the biggest stumbling block to ensuring meaningful and robust needs analysis and later return-on-investment (ROI) for training spend. I suspect that part of the answer to the solution lies in a lack of training representation at an executive or decision-making level combined with a reactive mode of operation by the training or HR department and the 'disconnect' between the executive and training management.

So how does a training manager demonstrate the value of the training? By ensuring that training impact is measured in the workplace and that the training does not end in the classroom, but is evaluated on the floor in action at work. By saying action I really mean your ability to report effectively back to the executive and your partner managers, peers and colleagues. Metrics are key here. To add to this we have to learn faster and at least be more-learning oriented than our competitors and ensure more organisational value is created. I will be elaborating on these components in more detail in future blogs.

Here is a great YouTube video on the concept of a learning organisation. Have a look at it.

Do the needs analysis first!

I could not start my blog about training in Southern Africa without tackling the one area that is so lacking. The needs analysis. Too many training departments and organisations invest in misdirected training programmes and 'courses' for their employees. Often assuming that training is going to fix everything. Its just not true and if anything can impact on performance to a far greater degree. As it is training managers and human resource professionals are fighting to hold on to their budgets in these uncertain times, when organisations are protecting their cash-flow and literally tighten down on expenditure in what many still consider a 'soft' operational focus or department.

We only have ourselves to blame here. By doing a thorough needs analysis of the performance requirements of the workforce a training or human resource management department are in a better position to really understand the fundamental dynamics of the ever-changing needs to deliver human performance. Well take a step back for a moment and also consider that the staff performance is dependent on allot more than pure applied skill and individual expertise. Strong 'leading-from-the-front' managers are just as critical and as Peter Senge aptly puts it. If you are not a learning organisation, you are already as good as dead. Fairly radical? No, actually with the rate of change globally, the internet (Web 2.0) as a catalyst for development and factoring in economic instability plus growing climate change concerns has created a veritable cauldron of dangerous elements. Not all of them necessarily compatible with each other. Yet for a training professional we are at the crucible, the molten core, trying to figure out where we can make a difference by understanding the needs of our workforce and the world they and your organisation is operating in.

Its no longer enough to understand just the individual, his or her team, or the department. Its more, its the whole business and the environment it operates in and the community and customers it serves. Key to this is a true understanding of of what competition really means to your business. You might be wondering what that has got to do with you as a training professional. Its actually key for you to know as much as you can about who and what the competitive environment is like for the staff that you develop, procure and train courses on. It will assist you to really understand the performance requirements of the employees from a different perspective and will support your training needs analysis and its design.

A decent training needs analysis thus cuts across the strategic external environment as well as its internal dynamics. To defend your budget and in fact grow your influence beyond budgeting you have to take a more proactive stance in the determination of organisational strategy, the competitor analysis and other key strategic planning processes that your organisations might undertake. Rather than being delegated to fulfilling strategic training needs by others, get yourself into those strategic conversations.

Do it with credibility though. Do you homework, build your internal network with other key managers in a cross-functional sense. Whether its marketing, sales, production, operations, etc it really does not matter. At times like this passivity is the death knell of many a training department and team.

Have a look at at Michael Porters YouTube video below explaining the concept of competiveness and forces that influence organisations.


Knowledge Resources well-known events and publishing organisation in South Africa are conducting a HR practices survey. It can give you some idea of the issues that various organisations have identified as being key. Although more HR-centric than training oriented, you as Tribe members might find it a useful exercise. Click here to complete the survey.