Their future is in our hands …
The future of our country will largely depend on our ability to lead our children to become productive , contributing citizens of a growing and prosperous economy . With large numbers of unemployed youth with very basic education and a limited skillset , the challenge is formidable .
“ We need to be able to provide technically skilled , employable young people at an affordable cost and in the shortest possible time frame ”
The concept of artisan training centres of excellence has arisen from this need . It became clear that many of our institutions provide vocational training and education that is not aligned to industry needs and that those that qualify are not work ready , and often require extensive further training by employers .
But then what does an artisan centre of excellence look like ? Those training centers share a number of key success factors that is typical of the approach :
Industry alignment
The concern is not merely pass rates of training courses but the employability of learners that will contribute to business success through applying their skills to solve problems and improve productivity . We apply our deep understanding of industry requirement and on-going technical advances .
To cross this divide training institutions need to be able to procure the equipment and training curriculum content as appropriate to industry . They will need to ensure technical training competence of instructors to the same standard . In addition they will need to be able to manage on the job training programme scheduling and exposure of apprentices in the workplace to achieve artisan status .
The vocational training space in our country is rapidly evolving and centres of excellence play actively engage government and industry stakeholders on an ongoing basis .
Client base
Maintaining student numbers at sound economy of scale requires exceptional marketing and stakeholder positioning efforts . Centres of excellence are characterised by :
• Extensive industry networks and a regular retained client base .
• References and track record in projects and industries – especially for large scale nationwide infrastructure projects .
• A planned and methodical approach to sales and stakeholder engagement typical to that of a large sales driven corporate .
Scheduling and administrative skills
Large scale training programme delivery requires exceptional scheduling and administrative competence and systems . A comprehensive administrative support service pertaining to the registration , administration and certification of learners is required . This lessens the burden of participating employers and ensures a high standard and learner success rate . Typically a Learner Management System ( LMS ) is used for proper recordkeeping and learner management .
A Learning Management System manages and coordinates classroom and other training events , tracks the transference of skills , stores training records and monitors feedback and evaluations of learners . Extensive reporting to clients in various large projects are often provided .
In addition a robust enterprise resource planning and financial system is required . Functions like Procurement , Financial Accounting , Invoicing as well as Human Resources and Payroll need to be executed with advanced control measures and transparent audit trails .
Client engagement and service management
Services to clients should be rendered according to service level targets , which will address costs , timeliness and quality in terms of the business requirements of clients .
Centres of excellence attain trade test results significantly above the national average and benchmark prices constantly against competitors to ensure that the offering represent value for money to clients .
In addition such centres maintain an active client engagement programme , which means that issues are dealt with promptly , and that unique solutions are crafted at each client level .
Operational quality control
Sound management systems and quality control is a prerequisite for training centre accreditation , but centres of excellence have lifted the bar . Their quality management are integrated into all aspects of the institution , with all services rendered as well as the
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level of client satisfaction being regularly measured . The results used in a preventative and continuous improvement process .
Employees of all levels and categories have clear responsibilities and objectives , and endeavor to carry out their work in the most diligent , efficient and effective manner
Financial management
A cenre of excellence must have an independant financial capacity to administer programmes of large scale and duration , including the required risk management , accounting standards and financial controls to meet all public and private governance and compliance requirements . Cost Management is primarily concerned with the cost of resources – men , material , and machines needed to complete scheduled activities .
Staff quality and development
The quality of instruction is fundamental to its outcome . This includes for the level and experience of instructors to compile material , provide institutional as well as on the job practical training and conduct trade assessments , to use administration systems to capture student progress and reporting , as well as familiarity with quality management systems used .
Centres of excellence appoint managers and trainers from industry , rather than from educational institutions so that they have the necessary experience to enable them to effectively assist students with any challenges they may encounter during their training and link this to similar challenges they will face in the workplace . These skills and experience enable them to advise clients on customized learning and development solutions .
In addition to the high standards , ongoing staff development is of the essence .
Complete human capital management
Centres of excellence have a complete human capital understanding , including recruitment and selection , skills development , payroll and administration , as well as occupational risk requirements . This enables them tackle training assignments from an integrated perspective and also to offer cradle-to-grave services on large projects .
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