Transcript High Level Summary of Production of Professionals HRDC

Report back
COMMISSION 4
Production of Professionals
DR EL VAN STADEN
Purpose
• What are the blockages?
• What were the professionals?
• Teachers, engineers, doctors, nurses, pharmacists,
chartered accountants, actuaries, veterinary doctors,
social workers.
Findings and recommendations
• Professional bodies need to play a far more active role must have a support Programme, address blockages,
undertake regulatory functions more effectively
• Absence of career guidance
• Inadequate basic education
• Limited spaces in some professional studies
• Limited preparation for tertiary education
• Inconsistent quality across the universities
• Insufficient access to work integrated learningworkplace entree
• Alignment between different government departments.
Professional bodies should
• Support improved maths and science
programmes
• Work with SAQA and DHET to support career
guidance and spaces in the universities
Government will
• Support on-going programmes
• Focused effort to increase NSC/NCV graduates
• Provide Prof Body information on NSC graduate above
60%
• Work with professional councils and coordination between
universities and Prof Bodies and other government entities
Government will (Cont)
• Bursaries not only to address tuition but other expenses,
strong coordination on all bursary information
• Need to be value added interventions such as mentoring
but also improved accountability from students and
universities
COMMISSION: Additional points raised
• Need to develop our own people- Africa for Africa! A good
example is the strategy and comprehensive plan of SAICA
now in process of duplication by ECSA.
• Need to work at the interface of the public / private sector
and the industry - those that produce and those that receive
• The professionalization of our Educators is imperative.
-Especially in relation to the inset into the development
of the curriculum of which SACE is the only
professional body that does not have a say.
- The issue around the opening and contribution of the
teacher "colleges" is raised where one would monitor
COMMISSION: Additional points raised (Cont)
-
The teacher development plan has allocated different
responsibilities to different entities. The question is:
has this plan been assessed? Apparently a first phase
report is in progress.
-
Professionalism can only be improved through CPD
(continuous professional development)
-
This needs to be considered. It is also propose that
retired teachers need to be brought back to the
teaching environment.
COMMISSION: Additional points raised (Cont)
• The issue of the candidacy phase for the professional engineer
has been raised. Work experience towards professional
designation is still a big challenge. There will be a fund set up in
the similar fashion than the SAICA model - grow of the pipeline
from high school to the work place
• The production of medical doctors needs to be increased where
the DHET and the DOH need to work together
• A joint health science and education committee is in the process
of establishment.
• The clinical associate was suppose to alleviate the pressure from
the medical doctor and nursing interphase. This emerging
profession needs to be addressed and need to ensure that
COMMISSION: Additional points raised (Cont)
• The introduction of a pharmacy technician need to be
decided upon where the council and the DOH needs to
come to a conclusion
• The state of the environment and salary packages of
nurses needs to be addressed. The specialist nurses are
one of the areas that are experiencing huge shortages.
Gauteng province indicated that they do fund their nurses
sufficiently.
• Actuaries also follow the THUTHUKA model of SAICA - the
challenge is within the first year as well as the maths
knowledge of the student
COMMISSION: Additional points raised (Cont)
• Vet doctors for food security are the most important area
that needs to be grown. State environment working
conditions are not the best. A process is underway where a
second faculty of vet sciences will be established.
• Social worker graduates are produced, but the placement
of the graduates in the public sector is a challenge as
budgeted posts are essential
Further Issues to be considered were raised
• Brain drain, and attracting back the ones that left especially visible in some of the professions. Strategies
has to be developed to retain the professionals and to
attract the professionals back - especially the private
sectors role in this needs to be considered.
• The context of the professional and professionalism is
raised especially in relation to the public service and the
future role of the National School of government.....it should
be the entire environment, image, service delivery and
portraying the professional conduct of all. It should also be
through a career path. The administrative professional is
another area that should be addressed.
Further Issues to be considered were raised
• Blockages within the WIL - this relates specifically to the
mentoring of students in the workplace whilst the DHET.
Does have a dedicated process for placement in the
workplace.
• Maths is seen as one of the blockages for pursuing a
profession - it is different to the types of professions. The
relationship between DHET and DBE needs to deliver
concrete proposals. Also the role of professional bodies in
the curriculum development at the lower levels (primary)
need to be considered.
Further Issues to be considered were raised
• Attorneys are also a profession that needs to be considered
as an area that needs to be under scrutiny - a review of the
LLB is in progress with the department of Justice, DHET
and the professional body involved.
• Pipeline input from the school level into the maritime sector
needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency - a separate
process was followed but the different opportunities within
the maritime industry need to be strengthened.
• Bureaucratic processes within the different professions are
still an obstacle. Global standards are to which SA has to
adhere so that our graduates can be players in the global
work