HR Professionals Forum: Talent Management – growing the talent pool

South Africa has a critical skills shortage. Manpower Group’s Talent Shortage Survey of 750 businesses in South Africa showed that in 2016, 34% of local employers were having difficulty filling jobs which is up from 26% in 2014. Our own surveys show that the greatest challenge to our member companies’ recruitment programmes are not enough available BEE candidates, and lack of skilled candidates at senior levels and in niche areas. With the lack of talent in the market, skills development is becoming even more important to develop the next tier of black executives for the C-suite as part of succession planning. Is your business cultivating this talent internally or is it time to innovate on skills and people development?

With skills shortages across most industries, is it time to rethink the traditional South African recruitment and business models, and open up to methodologies such as the German Dual System? The WC Government recently launched the Apprenticeship Game Changer and will fund placements in key sectors including ICT skills such as software development and systems analysis. The South African German Chamber also has a programme called the Commercial Advancement Training Scheme resulting in certificates in Business Administration which has been running successfully in Johannesburg. Could this approach help with producing the skills that your business requires in the next 5 years?

Join us as Dionne Kerr, CEO of Siyakha Consulting, facilitates this session on innovative approaches to talent development especially changing the landscape for black executives and creating the next tier of leaders.  We will also hear from Dr Floris Prinsloo of the Western Cape Government Apprenticeship Game Changer on how the programme supports the development of technicians and specifically ICT skills. Isabella Hlabangu of the SA German Chamber of Commerce and Industry will highlight the CATS programme having been a candidate on the programme herself.

Speakers

Dionne Kerr is CEO of Siyakha Consulting and Deputy Chair of the Association of BEE Professionals. Dionne is passionate about transformation and development in South Africa and has consulted to various private sector organisations to define their approach and implementation of BEE. She sits on the dti’s Joint Technical Committee and BEE task team to define the implementation and verification of the new Codes. She was appointed to the Presidential Review Committee to assess transformation within the public sector. A recipient of the DIVA Africa award for her role in SMME development, Dionne has rolled out development programmes in rural and urban environments. She serves as a Catalyst, a programme of UKTI to promote SMME growth between South Africa and the UK.

Dr Floris Prinsloo is Project Lead for the WC Government Apprenticeship Game Changer. Dr Prinsloo has a postgraduate diploma in Knowledge and Information Systems Management from Stellenbosch University, an MBA from the Henley Management College (UK) and a doctoral degree in Leadership from the University of Johannesburg. He worked for 24 years in the private sector in marketing and training in the manufacturing for the mining industry, but since 2004, he has been involved with national skills development at the Department of Labour, the Mining SETA, the Department of Higher Education and Training and currently, the Western Cape Government. He also serves on the Human Resource Development Council of South Africa.

Isabella Hlabangu is HOD: Training and CSR at the Southern African – German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Isabella comes from a strong Human Resources and Training background having previously worked at Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Africa & ThyssenKrupp Resource Technologies, where she has been instrumental in introducing training programmes and mentoring trainees. Isabella is passionate about Training & Development, she holds a BCom in Human Resources Management, an IndustrieKaufmann Certificate (Dual Vocational Training Certificate in Business Administration) and is a registered Skills Development Facilitator.