32
FEATURE
“ We have seven focus areas which will assist us in achieving our strategic objectives and goals which cover various areas , which we believe were key to turning around the organisation and making sure we deliver on our mandate efficiently and effectively .
Number one is sustainability and clean administration which includes financial sustainability , to deliver the skills and competencies from all aspects as prescribed in the Skills Development Act and the National Skills Development Plan 2030 .
Number two is to ensure that we have a fluid and proper corporate culture that is based on CETA values , which were also refined to be simpler and straight to the point . This helps in modelling behaviours daily on each activity we undertake as a part of discharging our responsibilities everywhere in the organisation , eliminating potential confusion .
Improving employee competencies , skills , experience , and engagement levels is priority number three .
Quality Assurance is a very scarce skill and most of the time people without the proper QA qualifications find themselves disadvantaged and not able to operate at full capacity . We have formalised learning and development in the organisation and will continue to ensure that our workers are becoming better , more effective and ultimately experts in their related fields through various interventions . This will then result in the ability and mind shift to serve stakeholder interests better .
Number four is making full use of digitisation and information management and knowledge systems , improving internal operational efficiencies and institutionalising of processes and sharing knowledge . All our records are and will be moving to the electronic platforms enabling us to refer to and run reports at any time to assist our decision-making process ( analysis ). For example , let us say we need to report on how many artisans are in training , nationally or in a particular district , including gender and racial profiles , men , and women .
I need to go into the system and it must be able to tell me how many artisans are in the programme , how many tests have been written by artisan X and where difficulties may arise in the training , enabling us to detect weaknesses and strengths to improve the trade testing requirements . Strengthening this aspect is not only in the interest of the artisans whose earnings and careers are affected , but for CETA itself and its reputation .
Other priorities including enhancing our research and innovation capabilities , resourcing , improving our stakeholder relationships to achieve our mandate and investing and improving our CETA brand , its positioning and its strength .
“ Fundamentally we have three main thinking areas , namely , stakeholder management , governance , and operations .”
Learner attendance is a problem in that up until now one could never be sure of as the accuracy of inputs like time attended or even if the learner was not sending someone else in to sign in on their behalf !
These were some of the factors that in the past may have resulted in stipends being paid , and not necessarily to learners who were putting in the correct hours .
So , from June 2022 CETA launched a system , CETA Biometrics , to manage the learner attendance . One is loaded onto the system by name , trainer , or workplace site the learner is training at .
This includes a learner ’ s ID and photo for facial recognition as well as the GPS coordinates of the college . This way the system knows where the learner is to be at any given time , the time spent in class and can identify that the learner is who he / she is .
The learners are also able to see how much they have earned in stipend for that month and are sure they expect to be paid . As a result , the biometrics are available on Android and other phone apps for immediate download and immediate use for authorised parties .
We can use this as a benchmark as well in terms of the average class time per subject . This system is useful to the employers , and training providers in that submission of monthly reports is made easier and reduces the time to claim payment for the employer , training provider and the learner .
The system becomes the pivotal point for all information and is accessible to all who need to work with and know their information . This creates a positive environment in which to work , and levy paying stakeholders know their levies are being put to the correct use of creating skilled people that are useful to society .
For us we aim to be a high performing and learning organisation , to be recognised as a skills authority ( leading position ) for the sector and being agile and responsive to all stakeholders ,” concludes Shezi .
For the plumbing sector to be fully up to date with CETA activities , Plumbing Africa will carry a regular column under the CETA banner . PA
Water facts
Water regulates the Earth ' s temperature .
www . plumbingafrica . co . za @ plumbingonline @ plumbingonline @ PlumbingAfricaOnline February 2023 Volume 28 I Number 12