March - April 2010

Leading yourself and developing others:  A new Generation Gap (Tom Peters)

Leadership to-day is largely in the hands of the Baby Boomers and gave us an economy that provided a solid foundation to build on. They moved beyond the war, overcame the great depression and left us with the impression “that we can be anything you want to be”. We have made a mess by not building a solid foundation for those who will follow us. The next generation may be the first ever that will not be better off than their parents. Current scenarios in South Africa may look a bit different. Many sons and daughters of the Boomers are living lavish lives. Not to talk about some of the severage packages we have seen in our country in recent times.
Here are some of the current issues we face:

  • We didn’t invent greed, but we took it to a new level. The pursuit of individual wealth has often trumped the collective national good. The gap between the haves and the have not’s have grown and we are paying the price for that greed. Just look at the flashy ministerial cars and enormous tenders offered to incompetent persons, who erode our economy.
  • We confused profit with value. Maximising profit led us to cut costs so dramatically that we may have sacrificed the survival of our enterprise. Our miserable investment in Talent Development and R&D and our relentless push to lower supplier costs have weakened historically strong brands. 
  • Too many MBA’s were in charge. We have become managers and forgot about being leaders. Running a business is a lot different than building a company. Have we not become over concerned with the metrics? Most of the career paths to the top are running through finance?
  • We have been reluctant to accept responsibility. Many shift the blame of the tough economy as just unlucky. Baloney! We made this economy and if we look back, we see a strategic failure and an operational failure. 
  • Our parents unwittingly made us soft. Our parents have helped us drive needs and want to make sure we have more than they had as children. We need to be clear who we are and what we stand for. What are our values as leaders?  “You must be the change you wish to see in the world” Gandhi
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Upcoming Events
20 - 21 April: USB presents “The Crucial Role of Good Governance” in Cape Town. Anne Engelbrecht 082 854 9349.
   
12 May 2010: Tour departs to ASTD Conference Chicago via New York. ASTD Chicago Conference dates:  16 - 19 May 2010 (Visit www.astd.co.za for the full itinerary).
   
10 - 12 May:  Global Learning Academy Conference in Johannesburg. See www.glaconferen.com.
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Understanding the Role and Impact of the QCTO (Suzanne Hattingh)



Established
The Board of the Quality Council for Trades and Occupation (QCTO) was launched by the Minister of Higher Education and Training on 23rd February 2010 and will be run by CEO, Adrienne Bird. The 2008 NQF Act has made provision for the establishment of the QCTO as the third quality council responsible for the Occupational Qualifications Framework (OQF).

The Role
The role of the QCTO is to ensure the availability, relevance and quality of occupational qualifications, which will reflect occupation – specific labour market requirements and meet industry needs. The quality assurance processes of the QCTO will enhance the credibility of learner achievements and ensure recognition of occupational competence, thereby promoting employability and career advancement.

Main Functions
  • To establish and manage the OQF and quality assurance.
  • Register qualification development partners.
  • Register one qualification for every occupation and submit qualifications to SAQA for registration with NQF.
  • Accredit “Skills development providers”.
  • Appoint assessment quality partners to develop, manage and monitor external assessment.
  • Issue certificates to learners for successful completion of external assessment.
  • Monitor and evaluate the implementation of occupational learning programmes.


It is anticipated that the QCTO and the new processes will only be operational by mid 2011. At present there is no need for panic to align programmes to the QCTO. To learn more about QCTO you can read the full article.       
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The guide to Government’s Training Layoffs Scheme in response to the global crises

(Helen Huster and Suzanne Hattingh)

In December 2010 the social partners – organised labour, business, Government and community representatives met to discuss how South Africans should respond to the  global economic crisis.  Billions of Rands have been poured into this project and only a few million have been claimed thus far. Organisations need to be aware of the correct procedure to follow. Read the full article.
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The latest State of the Training and HRD Industry Report is now available

A must for training directors

Each year ASTD provides local practioners in HRD/HR with an annual State of the Industry Report, with the assistance of dedicated researchers at UNISA, UJ and others. If you are looking for good benchmarking info, the 2009 report is available and can be purchased for R513.00 for ASTD members from Juanita at juanitapro@mweb.co.za. Valuable info and trends on: Training spend, Training Needs, Performance Management, ROI Evaluation & Measurement, E-Learning, Talent Management, Mentoring & Coaching, HRD Practices, Knowledge Management etc. are featured in this report.

Research reports of this nature normally sell for over R2,000.00. We are the only country outside the USA and Brazil, who capture ongoing trends in our Industry on an annual basis. Thanks to all researchers for their dedication.
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2010 Benchmark / Study Tour to the USA, and ASTD Chicago Conference (12 - 19 May 2010) 


Deadline for registration 26th March!
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to reward exemplar performers to travel with us on our annual tour to the ASTD International Conference (over 200 speakers with a global audience of over 10,000 delegates). On route this year we visit IBM in New York. See www.astd.co.za for itinerary. Bookings close end of March. Please contact Robin on 082 894 6932 to reserve a seat.
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Expect and ensure that 2010 will be the best ever.
Robin and the ASTD Team