Has your company put you through training over the last few years? If it hasn't, it could be one of the thousands that is giving headaches to the new CEO for the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Seta (Merseta), Jesse Maluleke.
Some 22 000 companies are paying skills levies to the Merseta. Last year's statistics showed that of these 22 000 companies, less than 13,5% claimed grants for training.
Big companies that represent about 20% of these 21 000 companies are not such a problem, "they have a tradition of training, they have resources to employ their own skills development facilitator," says Maluleke.
It's the 80%, or almost 18 000 companies, mostly small companies, that are testing the Merseta's training brains. "Smaller companies don't have resources, expertise, they don't know where to start. Some smaller companies also see training as an additional tax. They just want to pay their (skills) levy and get on with their business," Maluleke continues.
Companies that do not claim grants for training, do benefit from free training. The Merseta funds this with unclaimed levies. In the past year, this amounted to R35 million. Training ranged from technical skills training to management training. Labour will use R4m of this for its own training projects.
Still, Companies with between 10 and 12 workers, find it difficult to release 4 to 5 workers. Where training is provided, often it is offered after working hours. And because workers live far from work, are tired after work, the drop out rate is high. Some companies have tried to offer adult basic education in the communities where workers live, but the majority of companies still provide it where workers work.
While Maluleke might be worried about his Seta's report card, his counterpart in Numsa, training co-ordinator, Malebo Mogopodi, is battling to attend all meetings of the Merseta's different chambers. With hardly a moment to spare, she talks of the new initiative on the part of the Merseta to increase the capacity of workers and their trade unions on training issues.
"The employer bodies, Seifsa, RMI and Plasfed manage skills development facilitators (SDFs) funded by the Merseta to help small companies draw up skills plans. But often these SDFs don't speak to workers," says Mogopodi.
And as Maluleke says, "if you want to make sure you have proper buy in from labour at workplaces, then there must be a proper process of consultation." To deal with these problems, the Merseta will work with Numsa and other trade unions to:
train labour representatives to assist when small companies draw up their skills plans build labour's capacity to effectively participate in all Merseta activities increase the numbers of people in labour that are familiar with training so that training committees can be set up across more companies.
"The Setas can only do well if we have active stakeholders," says Maluleke. "Labour must get more involved in the Merseta's activities. If labour puts its mind to it, it will work it out." And with all this attention, the Merseta's scorecard can only improve.
Source
Numsa News