THE FUTURE
STONEHURST MOUNTAIN ESTATE
EDUCATION
EDUCATION, TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OF STAFF
IN A RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY HOMEOWNERS’
ASSOCIATION (HOA)
BY FAR THE MOST NEGLECTED AREA IN
COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT!
Recent research shows that most estate managers come
from a security or military environment. There are many
who have cut their teeth in the hospitality and retail
sector, and there are many who have worked in local
government and civil engineering.
While there are generic training programmes and
qualifications for finance managers, administrators and
facilities management, there are no nationally recognised
qualifications for community managers. ARC established
2. To compile and submit an Annual Training Report
(ATR) at the end of the term that compares what
was planned for and what training was conducted
It is not always necessary to send staff on lengthy
qualification type programmes. Through the Institute of
Professional Estate Managers (IPEM), staff can attend
short courses aligned to the National Qualifications
Framework (NQF). These short programmes will include:
• • Dealing with difficult people
• • Problem-solving and decision-making skills
the Community Associations Institute SA (CAISA), and • • Intelligent business communications
through this body, community managers can acquire • • Time-management skills
internationally developed qualifications and designations.
At the moment, all training and education programmes
• • Effective people-management skills
are individually based and too few HOAs are adopting • • Dealing with diversity
an integrative approach to the needs of the organisation. • • Project management
Such an approach includes:
1. Conducting a skills audit of all staff in the HOA
2. Interrogating job descriptions of all staff members
• • Working in teams
These are not necessarily linked to an occupation and
will apply to all staff in an HOA where the programme is
3. Comparing the above two points and creating a
needs analysis related to the gaps geared to various levels of the staffing structure. Specific
4. Identifying what training and skills development can
be dealt with on the job, and if there are individuals
who could provide coaching of these skills the programme content to the needs of an HOA.
5. Identifying what training will require formalised
off-site programmes, and sourcing appropriate
nationally accredited programmes to address these HOA to participate in learnership programmes where
All HOAs pay a skills levy to the Services Sector As the host employee of the learner, the HOA will
Education and Training Authority (SSETA) and for this,
a range of grants are available. The SSETA then expects
the HOA to conduct the following:
1. To compile a Workplace Skills Plan (WSP), based
on the above points
HOA-related case studies also assist to contextualise
Through the various Sector Education and Training
Authorities (SETAs), there are also opportunities for the
the HOA can access a grant to take on unemployed
graduates.
provide the workplace experiential component of
the learnership, and an accredited external training
provider will provide the theoretical component. A
stipend included in the grant is paid to the learner,
and learnerships generally run for 12 months.
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