Free Training & Career Tips... Subscribe to Get Weekly Career Tips
By Subscribing You are Agreeing to Terms and Conditions
The Skills Development Act in South Africa aims to empower the South African workforce with skills, ensure that employees are able to access better opportunities for the acquisition of new skills, create a space for new entrants into the labour market to obtain work experience, and introduce transformative measures through training and education so as to rectify unfair discrimination practices.
Skills Development Challenges
The challenges of today’s economic climate along with high rates of unemployment and skills shortages all point to the fact that we need to up our game when it comes to addressing skills development needs in South Africa. Hence, in supporting economic growth, better access to relevant skills development programs is essential. Therefore, making sure that the workforce is equipped with the skills required not only for the jobs of today, but also for the jobs of tomorrow, is a strategic requirement for national growth and expansion of our developing economy.
Now more than ever, we are living in times of great change, with advances in technology at every turn, and a drive towards business innovation and self-improvement becoming the daily norm. Yet, keeping up with these changes has its own set of challenges. New occupations are constantly emerging and replacing those that have become obsolete due to technological advancements such as increased automation. And within each job category, the required skills and competencies are continuously evolving.
The need for building the right talent
There are many tertiary education students that are currently enrolled in programs that do not support the business need for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills as well as those skills that will be needed in the future. Hence, many companies are faced with the challenge of sourcing graduates who are trained for example, in the areas of critical thinking and creative problem-solving, cognitive flexibility and decision making skills. In the light of this, the need to build a strong talent pool with the right skills is critical.
How to build an effective training program
Building an effective training program involves following a step-by-step process. Also, the need for training that can be conducted online is critically important in light of remote and hybrid work arrangements. Here is a brief outline of the main steps involved:
Assess and identify appropriate training needs
The first step in developing an effective training program is to identify and assess appropriate training needs. In this regard, certain companies may already have established organisational, strategic, human resources and individual training and development plans. Yet, if none such plans exist you will need to assess and focus on those developmental areas that have been prioritised.
Establish training objectives
Assessing and identifying appropriate training needs will reveal any gaps that are present in any existing training initiatives and employee skill sets. These gaps should be carefully scrutinised and prioritised with a view to outlining an organisation’s training objectives with the main goal of bridging the gap between current and required skills, knowledge and performance levels.
Develop training action plans
Developing training action plans follows once the organisation’s training objectives have been set in place. This involves instructional design, learning theories, content, training materials as well as other relevant training elements. Training delivery methods and resources should also be included as well as taking into account the levels of training required as well as individual learning styles.
Implement training interventions
Implementing the training interventions is the stage where the training program springs to life. At this point, organisations will need to determine how the training will be delivered, that is, in-house or via external means. The implementation phase should also take into consideration employee learning engagement and KPI (Key Performance Indicator) goals. Carefully planning the scheduling of training activities such as resources, equipment, facilities and the like launches the process and during the training, the progress of participants should be carefully monitored and assessed so as to ensure that the program is effectively meeting the designated requirements.
Evaluate training and revise where necessary
As previously mentioned, to ensure overall effectiveness, the training program should be continually monitored with the ultimate goal of evaluating the training interventions to determine whether they were successful in terms of meeting the required objectives. In this regard, stakeholder feedback should be obtained to determine program effectiveness, level of knowledge and skill acquisition as well as instructor effectiveness. In conjunction with the employee performance review process, analysing this feedback will enable the organisation to identify any flaws in the program. From there the program can be revised to cater for any objectives that have not been met.
One can therefore conclude that the delivery of an effective training program can be achieved if it is based on current feedback and employee experiences that identify team needs that are linked to organisational goals.
Nationwide Footprint
At BOTI, we can help you to implement your Training Plan. With a nationwide footprint we offer 400 courses to choose from.
BOTI’s E-learning Platform
Through our user-friendly E-learning platform we offer various packages that start from as little as R999 per month and with 120 preinstalled courses that allow you to safely and economically train your staff and monitor their performance. E-learning is also the perfect solution for those who follow remote working or hybrid working schedules. Let us know how many courses you need to access and users will be up and running within 48 hours.