Transcript Rebuilding the Human Resource Capital in the Road Sector RPF

Rebuilding the Human
Resource Capital in the Road
Sector
RPF
E Cape
6/7 May 2008
Background
CAPSA 07 (Summary paper; Jooste, Myburgh & Sampson)
“Overall, the review of CAPSA 07 outcomes has shown
that implementation of available knowledge and tools is
the domain in which most challenges remain, and in
which the least progress has been made. A key cause
of this is the lack of appropriate growth in human
resources, and the associated loss of experienced
practitioners for various reasons. A clear conclusion of
CAPSA 2007 is thus that progress made with respect
to asphalt pavements for southern Africa is
critically dependent on human resource
development, and on the development of design tools
and technology transfer mechanisms that are suited to
the current human resource realities of the region.”
Sabita Digest paper on HRD, capacity building
and skills development
Road Infrastructure Expenditure compared
with total infrastructure expenditure
R billions
120
100
80
60
40
20
Roads
Total infrastructure
/1
0
20
09
/0
9
20
08
/0
8
20
07
/0
7
20
06
/0
6
20
05
/0
5
04
20
20
03
/0
4
0
MTEF per Infrastructure sector
(2007 – 2010 total)
1%
0%
3%
9%
5%
3%
15%
24%
21%
10%
5%
4%
Water
Sanitation
Electricity
Housing
Education
Health
Roads
Rail
Ports
Justice
Police
Sport
Questions
Can the road sector deliver?
Do we have the human resources?
What can be done?
Other Challenges
Acceleration of the transformation
process
– Maths & Science legacy
Increase in labour component
– EPWP
Generation gap
Professional profile
Management of delivery
Network owners/managers of 530 000 kms
of proclaimed roads
– SANRAL
– Provinces
– Municipalities
16 000 km
346 000 km
168 000 km
220 000kms unproclaimed
Public Sector Capacity
(after RISFSA, 2006)
Skills category
Senior
officials/managers
Professionals
Techs & Assoc Prof
Clerks
Semi-skilled workers
Elementary
occupations
Total
Provinces
%
No
Municipalities
%
No
1.5
615
0.3
126
1.1
5.2
8.1
36.3
451
2 132
3 321
14 883
1.2
7.0
14.1
22.8
504
2 940
5 922
9 576
47.8
19 598
54.6
22 932
100
41 000
100
42 000
SANRAL – 149 (2007 annual report)
Provincial Capacity
(Treasury Survey, August 2006)
Highlighted many problems
Summary
– Understaffed
– Many of the staff are under-qualified
– Top managers interfere rather than guide
– Current legislation creates a negative
environment
– Departmental systems needs to be
streamlined to improve delivery
Summary of Recommendations
PDOTs need to do more to attract and retain skilled
personnel
– critically review organograms in terms of qualifications, skills &
salary
– Competitive salaries
Critical attention to skills deficit
– Training, bursaries, mentorship schemes, site experience
– Experience is time related
– Discourage the practice of placing non-engineering staff in
engineering management roles
Well maintained Asset Management Systems essential
Streamline admin systems
More emphasis on technical competence in procurement
Consultants should be members of SAACE where
possible
Contracts awarded to established contractors who should
retain sub-contractors based on training and competency
Municipal/Local Government Capacity
SAICE “Numbers and Needs study” – Nov 2007 by
Allison Lawless
Similar situation to Provinces
5 to 10 year window to turn around the skills decline
Concludes skills, leadership and a turnaround strategy
are urgently needed
To ensure sustainability:
– Long term plans – 10 to 20 year horizons
– Leadership needs a paradigm shift (ideological agendas to
sustainable service delivery)
– Relationship between Councils & Administration
– Municipal managers should be visionary leaders
Clear need for experience
– Different equity targets for different age groups
Municipal/Local Government Capacity
(cont ..)
Current civil engineering staff in local
government between 1 300 & 1 400
Net loss 70 to 90 per year since late 80s
Currently 3 engineers per 100 000 population
Previously 21 engineers/100 000
If this decline continues service delivery at
local government level will all but come to a
standstill
Lawless Plan to Rebuild Capacity in
Local Governments
Municipalities (and Provinces) to step up technical
appointments and attract as many back into the sector
as possible.
The public sector to offer and coordinate support and
set conditions for sustainability.
Deployment of students and graduates on long-term
workplace training contracts.
Consultants to second experienced municipal
(provincial) staff to run departments and rebuild internal
capacity.
In some instances, an “adopt-a-town” strategy whereby
the private sector is appointed on a turnkey basis to
address backlogs, and refurbish and rebuild long-term
structures, systems and capacity per municipality
The “Bottom Line” in the Public Sector
Capacity to deliver essential services at
Municipal and Provincial levels is critical and
needing urgent attention
Leadership needs to be reviewed as current
policies are not achieving the infrastructure
delivery goals
Strong leadership required to manage the
change
Time to harness, optimise and build the scarce
resources available for infrastructure
development and maintenance (of which roads
is a major component) without the constraints
of politics, age, gender and race
Private Sector Capacity
(Roads & Bridges sector - after RISFSA, 2006)
Skills category
Consultants
%
No
Contractors
%
No
Senior
officials/managers
12.2
760
1.8
868
Professionals
Techs & Assoc Prof
26.1
20.7
1 626
1 290
1.9
4.6
916
2 217
Clerks
Semi-skilled workers
Elementary
occupations
Total
28.0
0
1 744
0
4.2
44.5
2 024
21 449
13.0
810
43.0
20 726
100
6 230
100
48 200
Supply of Civil Engineers, Technologists
and Technicians
Supply chain from enrolment to professional
registration takes a minimum of 7 years and
more than 10 years to have the required
experience
Trends presented in RISFSA to 2002 with some
only to 1997
More up-to-date survey urgently required to
identify current trends and evaluate whether
current supply will meet the needs for next 10 –
15 years
Observations from the RISFSA figures
Students enrolling at universities between 1993 and
1997 remained constant at 2 000/year
Students who graduated declined from 1 500 to 1 200.
Students enrolling at Technikons between 1993 and 1997
doubled from 4 000 to 8 000
Students who graduated remained fairly constant at
3 000/year.
Registered civil engineers was 6 900 in 1998 and had
decreased to 6 400 by 2002 of which 20 – 30 percent
(approximately 1 700) are active in the roads and bridges
sector.
Registered technicians were 1 595 in 1998, peaked at
1615 in 2000 and fell back to about 1 595 in 2002.
The gap between the number of white and black
engineers registering has closed significantly.
Between 1998 and 2001, the number of black registered
technicians increased significantly to a point where
black registrations exceeded those of whites.
International Comparisons
Engineers as a proportion of population
8
6
4
2
U
us K
tra
l
Ire ia
la
C nd
an
A ad
rg a
en
R tin
om a
an
ia
B
ra
H zil
un
ga
ry
In
di
a
C
hi
na
A
SA
U
S
ou
th
A
fri
c
a
0
Engineers/1000 population
SA’s rate is 0.33/1 000 population
Factor of 10 lower than most other countries
Suggests the road sector needs 17 000 engineers not 1 700
Estimated Needs
Current status quo in road sector is approximately
138 000 employees
–
1 300 to 1 900 are registered civil engineers
RISFSA considered 5 scenarios from 2003/04
–
–
–
–
–
Continue with the current investment levels;
A gradual increase in investment in the road industry to R6
million per annum after 5 years;
An additional R6 billion invested within the 2003/04 financial
year;
A gradual increase in investment in the road industry to an
additional R12 million per annum after 5 years;
An additional R12 billion invested within the 2003/04 financial
year
MTEF suggests scenario 4 is the closest
Road Infrastructure Expenditure compared
with total infrastructure expenditure
R billions
120
100
80
60
R22.6b
40
R11.6b
20
Roads
Total infrastructure
/1
0
20
09
/0
9
20
08
/0
8
20
07
/0
7
20
06
/0
6
20
05
/0
5
04
20
20
03
/0
4
0
Forecast of number of employees for the
5 year period
Year 0
Skills category
No
Year 1
No
Year 5
% inc
No
% inc
Senior
officials/managers
2 470
2 650
7.3
3 410
38.1
Professionals
3 470
3 720
7.2
4 740
36.6
Techs & Assoc Prof
8 610
9 130
6.0
11 270
30.9
Clerks
12 930
13 560
4.9
16 130
24.7
Semi-skilled workers
46 070
49 670
7.8
64 250
39,5
Elementary
occupations
63 930
67 980
6.3
84 390
32.0
137 480
146 710
6.7
184 190
34.0
Total
Figures for public sector, consultants and contractors available
Observations from needs assessment
Current capacity cannot deliver on the MTEF
plans
An average 7% annual increase across the
skills level required in next 5 years
– 9 230 in year 1
– 47 000 over the 5 year period
General shortage of highly skilled professional
with the majority over 45 years of age
Road sector requires 1000 additional skilled
professionals in year 1 increasing to 5 000 by
year 5
Realistic strategies
Short term
– Recruitment or secondment of foreign experts
through competitive packages
– Development of a holistic sustainable skills
development plan
Longer term
–
–
–
–
–
Implementation of the plan
Improving the throughput at tertiary institutions
Mentorship towards professional registration
Promotion of the industry at schools level
Review of qualifications and training interventions
at all levels to meet industry needs
Summary of the current situation
Industry in a growth phase after years after years of
neglect
Human resources and skills seriously depleted,
especially in the public sector
Cannot realistic meet all the demands for delivery
– Too large fluctuation in funding
Limited leadership from DoT
– RISFSA positive
Skills development and HR growth only a priority in the
last 2 years
Inappropriate qualifications at all levels
– CETA; Materials testing; Pavement Engineering
No coordinated approach to HR capacity building
– Some positives (eg TRAC, SANRAL Chair, AsAc, SARF short
courses, T² Centres, CoDs)
– Mainly CPD focus
Outdated documentation that form our skills base
What can we DO?
Not a quick fix situation
Coordinated approach
RISFSA
“The shortcomings identified with road service
delivery include to a large extent failure in
coordination processes, structures and
mechanisms” (eg COLTO/COTO)
Roads Coordinating Body (RCB)
proposed as a critical element to
streamlining and coordinating service
delivery across all spheres of
government
Functions of the RCB
To oversee technical studies that are commissioned by the DOT in
consultation with roads authorities, to determine the state of the road
network, identify key challenges and backlogs and determine future
requirements;
Identifying and scheduling key priority areas jointly with roads authorities
in order to allow the latter to prioritise the allocation of funds;
To collect information and oversee the development of policies and
models in order to advise roads authorities on roads planning,
prioritisation and financing strategies and delivery management
processes;
Facilitation, coordination and oversight of the development of strategies,
plans, standards and guidelines for road service delivery in line with
government priorities;
Coordination of road sector support, including other relevant stakeholders
eg: SALGA, DPLG and National Treasury, for the implementation of key
government programmes;
Monitoring and evaluation of roads service delivery in order to ensure
that investment achieves the desired impact; and
To promote the implementation of the recommendations of the strategic
framework
How will this be achieved
without building HR capacity
and skills?
Road Engineering Coordinating Body
(RECOB)
Strategic coordination of human capital development in
the road sector in line with the RISFSA document with
alignment of the road sector initiatives to the broader
skills development initiatives driven by the
Government’s Joint Initiative in Priority Skills
Acquisition (JIPSA);
Coordination of education at tertiary institutions and
through the SAQA/CETA structures;
Information sharing and dissemination for continued
professional development;
Coordination and management of best-practice
documentation, standards and specifications in support
of RCB initiatives;
Coordination of research activities in support of bestpractice;
RECOB Strategic Trust Areas
Road
Engineering
Coordinating
Body
Strategic Support
& Coordination of
Skills
Development
Education &
Training
Coordination
Best-practice
documentation
Information
sharing &
dissemination
Research
Coordination
RECOB
Support structure to RCB and RISFSA
Private sector driven for quick implementation
– Management Executive of sponsor organisations
– Public/Private Advisory Board
Independent coordinating interface for road
engineering
Should not run courses in competition to
current service providers (eg SARF, AsAc,
C&CI, tertiary institutions)
Process driven by RPF sponsors
Business plan prepared for discussion
Questionnaire
Conclusions
MTEF shows the road sector is entering a growth phase
15 years of a depressed industry allied alternative
priorities and agendas has left the industry seriously
depleted in skills and capacity at all levels
Current capacity will not meet the delivery targets
– Foreign recruitment a reality in short term
There is no quick-fix solution
Based on a 5-year scenario
– 7% annual increase across all skills levels
– 9 230 extra in year 1 to 47 000 in year 5
– 1 000 extra skilled professional increasing to 5 000
15 year window to transfer knowledge and build a
vibrant and experienced work force
Needs to be supported by a sustained road
infrastructure growth strategy
Conclusions cont..
Large fluctuations in funding should be prevented for
sustainability
Don’t pull the plug in 5 – 10 years!!
Capacity at Provincial and Municipal levels is a serious
bottleneck to delivery and requires urgent attention
Coordinated approach to skills development and
capacity building in the road sector is an essential
prerequisite to improving efficiency and effectiveness of
road sector delivery
RECOB established as a matter of urgency in support of
the RCB to coordinate skills development and
associated best-practice support documentation to
facilitate the rebuilding of human capital
Increased Private sector involvement