Academic literature on the topic 'Employees – Training of – Namibia'

Thesis (MTech (Human Resource Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009<br>Policies adopted by tertiary educational institutions play a key role in determining the future of an institution. When they are applied and monitored effectively, most of these policies bear positive results for the institution. However, where there is no clear monitoring system, it is a foregone conclusion that policies will not bring about desired results. Therefore, assessing the PoN policy and practices are imperative. The HR Code is a policy document of the PoN. The main objective of the study was to establish effectiveness of the HR Code: SDT. The research study established motivating factors for drafting the HR Code: SDT, and analysed its weaknesses in order to trace whether staff development is linked to strategic goals of the PoN. The researcher has also made an earnest attempt to find out reasons why staff members resign after attending development programmes, which would assist the institution to retain their staff, as it prepares itself to become a university of technology that requires more and better qualified staff. The enquiry adopted a case study approach because it dealt with a specific institution in Namibia. A triangulation method was utilised to solicit information from academics, administrative and support staff, by conducting semi-structured interviews with top management, HoD’s, sectional heads and ex-staff members. A closed-ended questionnaire was distributed to staff members. Institutional documents were also reviewed to corroborate empirical data that was collected. Research revealed that the aim of drafting the HR Code: SDT was to improve qualification levels of Namibian staff members and to improve work performances of staff members. However, research proved conclusively that there were no measurable objectives that were established to evaluate and monitor that the objective was achieved; there were also no staff development plans linked to strategic goals of the institution; staff members’ work performance was not assessed after training; and there were no retention strategies in place. It is evident from the research findings that the desired results of the HR Code: SDT will not be achieved and, therefore, recommendations are proposed that the PoN effectively communicates objectives of the HR Code to staff members; develop a comprehensive and complimentary staff development policy; a staff development plan; an innovative retention strategy; and appoint a staff development officer to monitor and ensure that desired goals are achieved as means to save the institution from an unnecessary waste of financial, material and human resources.

Diversity training programmes are formal efforts to prepare the workforce to work with individuals from different cultural backgrounds and to improve organisational effectiveness. Although many studies have described diversity training programmes in the workplace, only a few have been evaluated to assess their effectiveness and impact on job outcomes. This thesis describes a study that assessed the impact of a diversity management-training programme on employee attitudes and behaviour towards diversity in a manufacturing company in Namibia. Kirkpatrick’s (1959) four-level model, which examines the trainees’ reactions to the training, the learning acquired, the behaviour change and improvement in organisational results, was used to measure the impact of the training programme. Data was collected through pre-and post-assessment semi-structured individual interviews and a focus group was conducted two months after the training. Data analysis indicates that the first two levels of the evaluation model showed an impact. The participants had positive reactions towards the course and said that they had learnt from the course. The data also showed that the training did not have any impact on the behaviour of the participants and on organisational outcomes. The research also revealed that lack of improved productivity and organisational results might have been influenced by unrealistic expectations, past political conditions, job insecurity and unemployment and the training context. Some recommendations for both the diversity training programme administrators as well as the management of the company are made.

Bibliography<br>Thesis (PhD (Curriculum Studies))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.<br>ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since the advent of the 21st century the world has been experiencing rapid changes in knowledge, technology and information. These changes pose challenges to the providers of education and training in general and vocational education and training in particular. The impact of technological advancement and the nature of organisational changes in the workplace demand skills of an increasingly higher level – particularly skills in the areas of information technology, problem solving and communication. The problem identified in this study was that graduates from vocational training centres (VTCs) in Namibia did not have appropriate employability skills needed at the workplace, as indicated by Namibian employers. The aim of this study was to identify the types of employability skills considered important by employers at the workplace and to determine how such skills could be integrated into the vocational education and training curriculum in Namibia. A literature review conducted revealed that employers require workers with the following key, core or employability skills: communication, information technology, working with numbers, working with others, problem solving and improving one’s own learning and performance. The population for this study was 493 employers providing on-the-job training or employing vocational training centre graduates. A total of 244 out of the 493 employers responded. The population of the study represented the following occupational sectors: auto trades, building construction trades, metalwork trades and electrical engineering trades. Data for the study were collected through reviewing the literature on employability skills, a survey questionnaire to employers and face-to-face interviews conducted with selected employers during the research. The following questions were explored in the questionnaire and structured interviews: i) Which employability skills are important at the workplace? ii) Who is responsible for developing employability skills? iii) If it is the responsibility of vocational training centres to foster employability skills, at which educational level should employability skills education be introduced? iv) How should the acquisition of employability skills be promoted? v) How should employability skills be assessed? The study found that employers in Namibia considered employability skills such as teamwork, time management, a positive attitude, problem solving, planning, and coping with multiple tasks as the most important skills they required from vocational training centre graduates. Employers further indicated that employability skills could be developed at family/home settings as well as at school and vocational training centres and suggested that employability skills education be introduced from level 1 during the first year of training. It was also found that portfolios, observation and practical assessment were credible approaches for assessing employability skills and that this should be done in real-life contexts. Based on the conclusions arrived at in the study, it is recommended that a policy framework for employability skills be developed and implemented in the Namibian vocational education and training system. Specific recommendations are made regarding the following aspects: the type of employability skills; whose responsibility it is to develop these skills; at which level of training the development of employability skills should be implemented; how they could best be learned and how the learning of employability skills could be assessed.<br>AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die snelle veranderinge op die gebied van kennis, tegnologie en inligting sedert die begin van die 21ste eeu bied groot uitdagings aan die verskaffers van onderwys en opleiding in die algemeen en beroepsonderwys en -opleiding in die besonder. Die uitwerking van tegnologiese vordering en die aard van organisatoriese veranderinge in die werkplek vereis groter hoërorde-vaardighede as vantevore – veral vaardighede op die gebied van inligtingstegnologie, probleemoplossing en kommunikasie. Die probleem wat in hierdie studie aan bod gekom het, was dat gegradueerdes van beroepsopleidingsentrums in Namibië nie oor voldoende indiensneembaarheidsvaardighede wat in die werkplek benodig word, beskik nie, soos aangedui deur Namibiese werknemers. Die doel van hierdie navorsing was om die soorte indiensneembaarheidsvaardighede wat werkgewers by indiensneming van personeel as belangrik beskou te identifiseer, en om vas te stel hoe sodanige vaardighede in die kurrikulum vir beroepsonderwys en .. opleiding in Namibië geïntegreer kan word. Literatuuroorsig het getoon dat werknemers benodig word met die volgende belangrike, kern- of indiensneembaarheidsvaardighede: kommunikasie, inligtingstegnologie, syfervaardigheid, samewerking met ander persone, probleemoplossing en die verbetering van eie leer en prestasie. Die navorsingspopulasie vir hierdie studie het uit 493 werkgewers bestaan wat indiensopleiding verskaf of wat persone in diens het wat reeds hul beroepsopleiding voltooi het. Tweehonderd-vier-en-veertig werkgewers het uiteindelik aan die vraelysondersoek deelgeneem. Die motor-, konstruksie- en metaalwerkbedryf, asook die elektriese-ingenieurswesesektor, is in die navorsingspopulasie verteenwoordig. Data is ingesamel deur literatuuroorsig te doen oor indiensneembaarheidsvaardighede, en deur vraelyste en persoonlike onderhoude. Die volgende vrae is in die vraelys en tydens gestruktureerde onderhoude gestel: i) Watter indiensneembaarheidsvaardighede is in die werkplek belangrik? ii) Wie is verantwoordelik vir die ontwikkeling van indiensneembaarheids-vaardighede? iii) Indien dit die verantwoordelikheid is van beroepsopleidingsentra om indiensneembaarheids-vaardighede te bevorder, op watter opvoedkundige vlak behoort opleiding met betrekking tot indiensneembaarheidsvaardighede ingestel te word? iv) Hoe behoort die aanleer van indiensneembaarheidsvaardighede bevorder te word? v) Hoe behoort indiensneembaarheidsvaardighede geassesseer te word? Daar is bevind dat werkgewers in Namibië indiensneembaarheidsvaardighede soos spanwerk, tydbestuur, positiewe houding, probleemoplossing, beplanning en die hantering van veelvuldige take as die belangrikste vaardighede beskou wat hulle van potensiële opgeleide werknemers verwag. Werkgewers het aangedui dat indiensneembaarheidsvaardighede in die huis, in skole en deur beroepsopleidingsentrums ontwikkel kan word. Hulle het voorgestel dat opleiding in indiensneembaarheidsvaardighede in die eerste jaar van opleiding by die beroepsopleidingsentrums vanaf vlak 1 aangebied behoort te word. Verdere bevinding was dat die assessering van kwekelinge se portefeuljes, waarneming en praktiese assessering geloofwaardige benadering tot die assessering van indiensneembaarheidsvaardighede is en dat dit binne die konteks van die werklike lewe gedoen behoort te word. Daar word op grond van die bevindinge onder meer aanbeveel dat beleidsraamwerk vir die ontwikkeling van indiensneembaarheidsvaardighede in die Namibiese beroepsonderwys en .. opleidingstelsel ontwikkel en geïmplementeer word. Spesifieke aanbevelings word gemaak ten opsigte van die tipes indiensneembaarheidsvaardighede, wie se verantwoordelikheid dit is om hierdie vaardighede te ontwikkel, op watter opleidingsvlak die indiensnemingsvaardighede geïmplementeer behoort te word, hoe dit ten beste aangeleer kan word, en hoe die leerproses met betrekking tot indiensneembaarheidsvaardighede geassesseer kan word.

Thesis (MTech (Human Resource Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011<br>In order for any organisation to achieve its goals, a committed workforce is essential. It has, however, become a great challenge for organisations to attract and retain employees as the power of success has shifted from organisations to employees. The organisation that is committed to attraction and retention of staff is likely to gain a competitive advantage, as staff members are satisfied and give optimum production levels. The purpose of the study was to determine and investigate factors that affect attraction and retention of staff at NIP in order to suggest possible interventions that could be employed to attract and retain staff in future. In order to obtain desired results, the researcher used a mixed-method approach. Questionnaires were distributed to all non-management NIP employees and semi-structured interviews were conducted with four (4) purposively selected NIP managers. Statistical analysis was used to analyse data, which was obtained by means of questionnaires, and content analysis was used for data that was obtained by means of semi-structured interviews. The study revealed that NIP staff members are dissatisfied with the company policies and practices, as the company does not always pay effective attention to them. Some of them indicated that they only worked as a means of survival; because of passion for their jobs; to save lives; and owing to the scarcity of jobs, since the industry is small. It is, therefore, necessary to pay attention to factors that this study has produced as obstacles in the way of NIP to employ an effective recruitment and retention strategy for its employees.

Thesis (MTech (Human Resource Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017.<br>The primary objective of the current study was to conduct a survey on the job satisfaction of line managers in the City of Windhoek (CoW) Municipality. The identifying of such variables could empower the CoW Municipality to develop programmes and policies that are designed to improve their job satisfaction levels. The literature review confirmed the impact of motivation on the job satisfaction of employees, and, in turn, its impact on employee productivity, and, ultimately, on organisational performance. The level of job satisfaction experienced by an individual describes how content he or she is with his or her job. The purpose of this study was to measure the job satisfaction facets (supervision, relationship with co-workers, present pay notch, nature of work, and opportunities for promotion) among line managers in the CoW, and how such facets affected their overall job satisfaction. The non-probability sampling technique was adopted to collect data from 102 respondents from nine different departments by means of a structured questionnaire, resulting in a response rate of (N = 76), 75%. The study was, however, limited to the line managers in the CoW Municipality. Following on which the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to determine the internal consistency or average correlation of items in the survey instrument. The Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (Spearman’s rho) analysis was used to analyse the data with the aid of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 16. In addition, the independent-samples t-test and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) were employed to empirically test the relationships between the employees’ job satisfaction and their gender and age. The findings showed a significant linear relationship between the existing levels of job satisfaction and job performance. Furthermore, the findings suggested that the employees were significantly satisfied with certain aspects of their jobs (the nature of the work, and their salary, supervision and co-workers), but not with the one aspect of their job (opportunity for promotion). They were, however, significantly satisfied with their jobs in general, with there being no significant difference between the male and female employees’ levels of job satisfaction. The analysis showed that promotion has a modest and positive effect on job satisfaction. The study concluded that the line managers were, in general, satisfied with their jobs. Thus, the results cannot be generalised to other departments and Local Authorities. The study needs to be replicated in other departments and Local Authorities, using the same method.

This thesis investigates how instructional leaders at the Windhoek College of Education (in Namibia) make sense of their roles. The Windhoek College of Education (WCE) was selected for this study because that is where I work, therefore it would be easy to observe some of the responses provided by the interviewees. It was also observed that instructional leadership is little researched in Namibia and hence study would contribute towards understanding the various perceptions that instructional leaders have of their roles. There is a need for information about the skills and tasks required to support practices of instructional leadership so that the best possible instruction can be provided. The thesis examines and presents such skills. A qualitative research framework, in particular an interpretative approach was used for the study. As my research is concerned with people’s perceptions, it is located in the interpretative paradigm. Semi-structured, open-ended interview questions were asked in order to gather information on how the participants make meaning of their roles as instructional leaders. The sample for the study consisted of eleven instructional leaders over different levels, i.e., executive leaders, leaders on middle-management level and leaders on classroom-instructional level. The findings indicated a narrow view of instructional leadership at the college. Factors contributing to this narrowness are addressed, e.g., the way concepts such as delegation, guidance and monitoring/supervision are perceived. The findings also addressed certain expectations that are needed from instructional leaders in order to ensure efficiency in their practice. The study concludes by recommending alternative, expansive ways of thinking about instructional leadership.