Skills Development
Attracting, developing and retaining certain skill sets are central to the automotive sector. Areas that are being examined include the identification of key skill sets and the skill supply requirements needed through to 2020. The DAC further addresses the skills development challenge by ensuring that member firms acquire the appropriate internal human resource development capability. Through the DAC’s public-private partnerships, the extensive public and private sector resources are supported and supplemented to benefit local automotive firms.
Skills Development Programmes
The DAC, in its July 2008 strategy development session, identified the low level of content and skills deficiencies in the domestic value chain as a key factor undermining the sustainability of the KwaZulu-Natal automotive industry’s competitiveness. This has led to the DAC exploring opportunities to establish skills-based initiatives aimed at improving local content. One of the primary levels of skill needs that were identified during the DAC strategy development session was the development of management skills. To this end, the DAC is currently in the process of researching the management skills requirements of the local automotive component sector. Once these requirements have been ascertained, the DAC aims to forge a partnership with a tertiary institution in a effort to customise the management skills programmes for the local automotive industry. The long term objective is that this will become the industry standard for the automotive industry in KZN.
The ‘Graduate Development Programme for Engineers’ is a programme to support the development of scarce engineering skills in the automotive industry in KwaZulu-Natal. This is achieved by recruiting graduates with Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering qualifications (and Electrical and Electronic Engineering to a limited extent) and providing them with the necessary outcomes based training and work experience to become Design, Industrialisation, Process, Purchasing/Logistics, Quality, Lean Manufacturing or Project Engineers.
The Programme is a cluster-based initiative involving multiple firms in order to leverage synergies in areas such as recruitment of talent, development of common modules and standards for graduates in training, common evaluation mechanisms, graduate exchanges between firms to enhance transfer of skills, increased number of total skilled engineers entering the industry, and potentially improved access to funding subsidies.
The development process for each graduate lasts 24 months, and upon completion of the Programme participants will be equipped to work as competent engineers in their respective identified vocations. During the 24 month Programme, the graduates are required to successfully complete a number of core and elective modules under the supervision and evaluation of an assigned mentor. The Programme also makes provision for the rotation of graduates between participating DAC member firms to enhance the acquisition of skills and experience in a different working environment. It is envisaged that the Programme will produce approximately 26 experienced and vocation specifically trained engineers per year for the automotive industry in KwaZulu-Natal. It is also envisaged that the two years of training will place the graduates in good stead in relation to the requirements for registration as Professional Engineers with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA). An outline of the Graduate Development Programme is provided below:
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South Africa is experiencing a severe shortage of well-qualified, competent and experienced artisans. While the economy currently produces approximately 5 000 artisans per year, research suggests that at least 12 500 artisans should be produced each year to meet the current demand. South Africa's expanding economy and the widening gap left by experienced toolmakers that have left the industry have also resulted in a dire need for students in this field.
The DAC is currently exploring opportunities to develop a programme that will support the development of high quality skills in this area.
The Team Leader Skills Development Programme is currently being established and will involve training team leaders to become competent leaders in their domains. The focus of this skills development programme will be on equipping team leaders with the knowledge and technical expertise to be efficient and effective team leaders. The training will target soft skills such as problem solving and basic leadership development all the while incorporating the philosophy of Lean Manufacturing.
The programme will have two components namely the capacity building of the individual, as well as providing support to DAC member firms to establish a team-based manufacturing philosophy. This programme will be accredited with the SETA and aligned to a qualification. DAC member will be required to register their learners with the relevant SETA in order to access funds for this training. This SETA accredited programme will provide firms with an opportunity to enhance the level of skills in the workplace and to eliminate huge amounts of training spend.
The Operator Skills Development Programme is aimed at addressing the skills-related challenge that exists at an operator level. The programme intends to develop operators to a skill level that would enable a level of productivity adequate to compete on a global basis. It is widely accepted that labour productivity is one of the main factors that will determine the extent to which the local automotive industry will succeed in the ever increasing global economy.
Appropriate benchmarks for the required operator skill level will be drawn from major established high wage automotive manufacturing economies, as well as major emerging lower wage automotive manufacturing economies. Further to this, the identified skill levels will be aligned with the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services SETA (MerSETA) institutional framework.
Retention
The prevalence of HIV and AIDS in the South African workforce poses a serious risk to the competitiveness of the labour intensive automotive and automotive component manufacturing industry. HIV and AIDS is consequently as much a corporate responsibility as a social problem. The absence of reliable information on HIV and AIDS prevalence in the automotive industry in KZN makes an accurate estimate of the current HIV and AIDS status amongst DAC members almost impossible.
In response to this, the DAC launched a pilot HIV and AIDS Programme at eight DAC member firms in June 2008. The objectives of the Programme are to:
- Improve the cluster’s ability to understand and mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS within DAC member companies
- Assist member companies to implement comprehensive HIV and AIDS workplace programmes, including facilitating and providing treatment and care for HIV+ employees
- Drive down the costs associated with HIV and AIDS programmes through joint action
- Increase knowledge sharing and partnership amongst member companies
At the end of 2009, the DAC revisited all of the Programme components in an effort to improve the effectiveness of the Programme, as well as to ensure it's sustainability in 2010 and beyond. The Programme has subsequently been expanded to a 12-step Programme through partnering with a variety of different parties and organisations:
Step 1: Baseline Assessment
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Step 2: Knowledge, Attitudes and Sexual Practices (KAP) Survey
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Step 3-6: Capacity Building
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Step 7: Awareness and Education
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Step 8: Company Aftercare and Support
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Step 9: Voluntary Counseling and Testing
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Step 10: Pre-HAART Treatment
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Step 11: HAART Treatment
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Step 12: Monitoring and Evaluation
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The DAC Remuneration and Retention Practices Survey benchmarks the remuneration practices of 23 job descriptions identified as scarce skills in the automotive industry in KwaZulu-Natal. The job descriptions include various engineering specific disciplines as well as a number of artisan and commercial jobs. The survey was established after one of the DAC member firms requested that remuneration and retention strategies be surveyed in an attempt to address the difficult issue of staff retention in the industry.
The first survey was conducted at the start of 2009 and will be expanded and repeated annually. Only the DAC member firms that participate in the survey will receive a copy of the report generated with the data collected. A confidentiality agreement is also signed between participating companies and the DAC.
The DAC HR Forum was established in 2008 with the aim of addressing workplace challenges. This is achieved by means of information sharing sessions where both human resource and industrial relations challenges are discussed. Human resource and industrial relations professionals from a wide range of member firms attend these highly interactive sessions and gain insight from an external consultant who specialises in both fields.
Topics such as job grading and employee retention are typically covered at DAC HR Forum meetings.
Special Projects
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