Page 7 - SPARKS APRIL 2013 1-28 LOW RES

sparks
ELECTRICAL NEWS april 2013
7 contractors’ corner
Training and development by Nick du Plessis
FOR a while now, I have been writing about the
quality of training standards in South Africa’s
electrical industry and this month I will focus on
what it is that separates one training centre
from another.
I conduct many worksite and provider audits
and over the years, I have gained the knowledge
and experience that helps me identify the train-
ing centres that offer real value for money.
It is obvious that any company that spends
money on the development of their staff
wants to know that their money is being
well spent and that the centre to which
they send their learners will equip those
learners with the necessary skills.
However, besides the importance of
training centres and the processes involved
in training, I must stress that the develop-
ment of any person also depends on the
following critical elements:
Selection of candidate
Prospective learners/apprentices must
be selected for development as artisans
because they eventually want to be an ar-
tisan and not only because they are being
offered a job.
Follow an interview and selection proc-
ess and involve the training centre’s man-
agement or facilitators in your interview
and selection processes.
The company that is offering the learner/
apprentice the opportunity to develop
will have the learner with them for at least
three years and they will expect some
return on their investment. This is why the
prospective learner must have the correct
attitude and understand that everyone is
there to help them to achieve their goals of
becoming a qualified artisan.
Training Centre
When considering a training centre, it
is essential to ask whether the training
centre has received accreditation from the
relevant SETA to train people in the skills
that your organisation requires. Remember,
a centre can have many accreditations – for
example, P and T Technology is accredited
to train electricians in the construction
industry, the chemical sector, the engineer-
ing sector and the manufacturing sector.
Secondly, find out howmany facilitators
the centre has to train artisans. If the centre
is training various levels of artisans, find out
whether they have more than one facilita-
tor or is one of the facilitators expected
to train first, second, third and fourth year
apprentices and oversee the trade test
preparation and other matters.
If this is the case, are you getting what
you are paying for?
Other questions to ask include: Does the
facility have the training facilities, equip-
ment and area to train your candidates?
Are the facilitators trained? Are they
registered? And, do they have experience
to transfer skills? Does the centre practice
Health and Safety issues from Personal Pro-
tective Equipment (PPE), site and personal
safety?
Coaches
Does the worksite have coaches qualified
in the same trade as the learner? Do the
coaches understand that the learner is
there to develop his/her career and is not
there as a tool carrier or labourer?
In my view, the coach is one of the most
important components in the develop-
ment of future artisans. If management
supports the coach, this will ensure that
you will not waste your money.
The coach could even be involved with
the interviewing process as, at the end of
the day, it is the coach who will be spending the
most time with the prospective learner.
Management
Management has an important role. As they are
paying for the artisan to be trained, they also
should be involved with the role-players, which
means that they should visit the training centre,
get to know the learners, and tomeet and discuss
performance with the facilitators. It is important
to avoid the‘divorced parent scenario’and ensure
that everyone works together to ensure that the
apprentice is successful and the company can
show a return on investment.
To develop an apprentice to the point where
they are ready to take their trade test is not a
‘quick fix exercise’; it is a career developing
exercise. Most SETAs require at least 32 weeks of
institutionalised training and 80 weeks on the job
training as a minimum requirement before
a candidate can do the trade test. If you are get-
ting less, then you need to ask yourself why
this is happening.
If you need advice on the training of appren-
tices, please call or email me to discuss how I can
help you and your company.
How to get a return on your investment when training artisans
Continued on page 10