Talent management is a source of competitive advantage and will be achieved by those organisations that are able to attract, develop and retain best in class individuals. It is thus not just a human resources issue but rather an integral part of any organisation’s strategy. Due to negative perceptions about South Africa, skilled workers are immigrating to countries such as Australia to the detriment of the South African economy. This loss is not necessarily being replaced by graduates or through immigration. Government policies such as Broader- Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE), Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and Affirmative Action (AA), compound the issue by then decreasing the pool of skilled applicants that may occupy skilled and senior posts in organisations. Globally there is a shortage of skills and due to employee mobility they can use any opportunity that presents itself. The objectives of this study was to determine the factors which lead to the emigration of skilled South African’s to Australia and then once these factors are known to propose retention strategies to role players to stem the emigration tide. To achieve these objectives a survey was prepared based on previous studies and a link to the web questionnaire was distributed to the population via an Australian immigration agent. The link was sent to all the agent’s clients around the world and thus consisted not only of South Africa respondents but also elicited international responses, which will be used for comparison purposes only. Only 48 South Africans responded to the survey and although limited, it was sufficient for the purposes of this study. The demographic profile was mainly male and dominated by Generation X. Using a Likert scale respondents were questioned on their levels of satisfaction in their country of origin and in Australia through an adaptation of a study by Mattes and Richmond (2000). The study of Hulme (2002) was adapted and incorporated into the questionnaire, where respondents were given the opportunity to rank considerations for leaving South Africa and factors that would draw them back. Respondents were provided with the opportunity for responses to open-ended questions to include other considerations for leaving and factors that would draw them back. Results from these survey items revealed that the primary reasons driving skilled South Africans to emigrate was safety and security, upkeep of public amenities, customer service and taxation. In contrast, South African migrants had high levels of satisfaction with safety and security, upkeep of public amenities and customer service in Australia. Respondents indicated that factors that would draw them back to South Africa would be improvements in safety and security and government, followed by family roots, good jobs and schools. The study also looked at the permanence of the move. If skilled individuals returned with new-found skills and experience then it could be a potential brain gain for South Africa. The results of this study found that 43% of respondents had no intention to return, 42% did not supply a response and only 10% were undecided on whether to return or not. To attract, retain and develop talent, the South African government and the private sector would need to work in partnership to develop policies that would satisfy the lower-order needs of individuals, such as physiological and safety needs. / Emigration of skilled South African migrants to Australia / Business Management / M.Tech. (Business Administration)

Thesis (MDF)--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / For many years, people have migrated to other parts of their countries or across national borders. The reasons for the phenomenon of migration are many. People tend to migrate from poorer regions or countries to those that are comparatively better than their places of origin. Migration affects both host and destination countries in many ways. While there is evidence to support positive effects from migrations, mostly in developed countries, there is ongoing debate in most developing countries as to the effect of this phenomenon of migration. Immigrants are often associated with negative effects in destination countries. The purpose of this research is to determine the contribution of skilled professional immigrants to the South African economy. This report will narrow its focus to a case study of the contribution of skilled professionals in the health and higher education sectors but will also take a cursory look at the broad effects of other immigrant categories in South Africa. This research report focused on selected sectors of the South African economy since 1994 and found enough evidence to conclude that immigrants contribute positively to the South African economy. This is contrary to commonly held assumptions that foreign immigrants negatively affect the South African economy. However, this research only focused on the higher education and health sectors. A broader understanding of the effects of immigrants on the South Africa economy therefore requires further investigation.

M.Comm. / The general conclusion arrived at in this dissertation is that the quality of infrastructure in South Africa has resulted in a large and increasing inflow of students from the other African countries. The ensuing influx of international students has been sustained through the activities of networks based on kin, acquaintance and the support of the source country governments. This has resulted in a large inflow of foreign revenue and growth of employment opportunities and income for South Africa. Although the revenue from the inflow of international students in South Africa is impressive, it is still trivial in comparison to what other countries such as the USA, the UK, Australia and China receive. Another advantage is that the presence of international students offers a potential boost to the skills shortage in South Africa. The direct benefits from international students to South Africa have the capacity to be further enhanced but a proper policy for facilitating such inflow is lacking. Certain administrative processes and practices in South Africa aggravate the situation. These procedures include visa application difficulties, university registration bureaucracy, and police behaviour. Worse still, crime and xenophobia in South Africa are common and they present some of the greatest threats to the continued inflow of international students.

The purpose of this study was to develop an optimal skills development planning and implementation process flow model for application within local government authorities, more specifically for application within the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. To achieve this, a literature review was conducted which provided for an understanding on how skills development structures and strategies have changed in recent times and how the laws which provide the framework and landscape for skills development in South Africa, have been adapted to accommodate these changes. The literature review continued with an analysis of various theoretical training and skills development models in order to determine an optimal systematic approach to training and development in South Africa, and to determine the sequential flow of skills planning and implementation process flow steps. From the literature and theoretical models, an all-embracing skills development planning and implementation process flow model was developed for implementation in local government authorities. This model was used as the basis for the development of a survey questionnaire to establish to what extent metropolitan municipalities, agreed or disagreed, that it implemented the aspects of the proposed model developed in this study. Structured interviews were conducted using the survey questionnaire. The results obtained were used to adapt the theoretical model, and to align it with the viewpoints of the majority of the respondents. Although various facets of skills development were found to be implemented across metropolitan municipalities, the majority of the municipalities did not apply optimal skills planning, nor did they apply optimal sequential process steps to ensure effective and efficient skills development. iv The empirical study established without a doubt that a dire need exists for an optimal skills development planning and implementation process flow model within local government authorities. Based on the analysis and interpretation of the research findings, the model proposed for local government authorities was customised to produce a process flow model to facilitate optimal skills development planning and implementation within the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.

Talent management is a source of competitive advantage and will be achieved by those organisations that are able to attract, develop and retain best in class individuals. It is thus not just a human resources issue but rather an integral part of any organisation’s strategy. Due to negative perceptions about South Africa, skilled workers are immigrating to countries such as Australia to the detriment of the South African economy. This loss is not necessarily being replaced by graduates or through immigration. Government policies such as Broader- Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE), Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and Affirmative Action (AA), compound the issue by then decreasing the pool of skilled applicants that may occupy skilled and senior posts in organisations. Globally there is a shortage of skills and due to employee mobility they can use any opportunity that presents itself. The objectives of this study was to determine the factors which lead to the emigration of skilled South African’s to Australia and then once these factors are known to propose retention strategies to role players to stem the emigration tide. To achieve these objectives a survey was prepared based on previous studies and a link to the web questionnaire was distributed to the population via an Australian immigration agent. The link was sent to all the agent’s clients around the world and thus consisted not only of South Africa respondents but also elicited international responses, which will be used for comparison purposes only. Only 48 South Africans responded to the survey and although limited, it was sufficient for the purposes of this study. The demographic profile was mainly male and dominated by Generation X. Using a Likert scale respondents were questioned on their levels of satisfaction in their country of origin and in Australia through an adaptation of a study by Mattes and Richmond (2000). The study of Hulme (2002) was adapted and incorporated into the questionnaire, where respondents were given the opportunity to rank considerations for leaving South Africa and factors that would draw them back. Respondents were provided with the opportunity for responses to open-ended questions to include other considerations for leaving and factors that would draw them back. Results from these survey items revealed that the primary reasons driving skilled South Africans to emigrate was safety and security, upkeep of public amenities, customer service and taxation. In contrast, South African migrants had high levels of satisfaction with safety and security, upkeep of public amenities and customer service in Australia. Respondents indicated that factors that would draw them back to South Africa would be improvements in safety and security and government, followed by family roots, good jobs and schools. The study also looked at the permanence of the move. If skilled individuals returned with new-found skills and experience then it could be a potential brain gain for South Africa. The results of this study found that 43% of respondents had no intention to return, 42% did not supply a response and only 10% were undecided on whether to return or not. To attract, retain and develop talent, the South African government and the private sector would need to work in partnership to develop policies that would satisfy the lower-order needs of individuals, such as physiological and safety needs. / Business Management / M.Tech. (Business Administration)

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree MAGISTER TECHNOLOGIAE in Quality Faculty of Engineering CAPE PENINSULA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, 2012 / Post apartheid South Africa experienced major economic turbulence with poverty, unemployment and skills shortage, with most manufacturing and other key economic sectors affected by poor productivity and a subsequent downsizing of their labour work force. At the same time, many economic opportunities arose, including the full impact of globalisation, the emergence of China and Africa as economic partners and becoming a full member of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) economic development group by the year 2010. The government and business communities at large realised the necessity for skills augmentation in order to expedite economic development and alleviate the scarcity of employment opportunities and growth across the major economic sectors. The backdrop of the economic upheaval of 2008 and 2009 placed manufacturing firms under pressure to reconsider their current operational strategies by streamlining their organisations and adopting aggressive lean and cost saving approaches in order to remain competitive. There is a perceived lack of alignment between industry and institutions alike, sometimes resulting in a perception that graduating industrial engineers do not entirely match industry expectations. Thus, it is imperative to explore the articulation and relationship between those industries that rely on the skills of industrial engineering technologists and the graduate industrial engineers with emphasis on the skills expectations as stressed by the national priorities and the academic capacity to meet these skills expectation in today’s competitive professional arena. This perceived lack of alignment between end user requirements and the service provided falls within the ambit of the field of quality management. This study focuses on two main sample groups within two areas of interest: • The industrial engineering student community and their respective academic environments; and • the relevant industrial engineering industry and its working environment. A self-administered questionnaire coupled with a number of interviews is employed in order to gather the required data. Grouped samples, involve the relevant industry employers, students and academic institutions. The research explores the pertinent roles and responsibilities expected of industrial engineers and industrial engineering technologists on entry into the working environment, as compared to the current level of training offered by various institutional bodies as expressed by the South African qualifications authority (SAQA) and the national qualifications framework (NQF). The validation of the analysis and outcomes of the study culminates through the exploration of the following: • The influence of skills levels on productivity within the relevant industrial engineering industries. • The demand and supply of industrial engineering skills. • Skilling industrial engineering graduates for their required roles and responsibilities. • Governing bodies responsible for the curriculation of industrial engineering programmes, offered by institutions of higher learning. The study aims to proffer valuable knowledge by identifying better opportunities for employment in the industrial engineering field, the addition of value towards better industrial engineering schooling and output quality of students emerging from institutions, and lastly superseding earlier misconceived perceptions of industrial engineering.

Skills development is one of the major challenges faced by South Africans, with more than 60 percent of the labour force being unskilled. This affects many industries around the country as are they forced to employ unskilled employees a development which has a negative bearing on the quality of products having a negative bearing on the quality of products. The Plastic Manufacturing Industry in the Eastern Cape Province is a prime example of firms that are affected by the short supply of skilled personnel on the labour market. Required skills range from business skills that are essential for the operating of a business, to technical skills that are essential for the employees who are involved in the production of goods and services. Training in skills has been proven to be a key to success. The primary objective of this study was to undertake an analysis concerning the significance of business skills and training needs for business success. Secondary objectives were to determine whether training in business skills as well as technical skills for the employees, could bring on success to the business. The study further went on to investigate the importance of training programmes for businesses. Research methodology included literature review and an empirical study, making use of the survey method through self-administered questionnaires. The statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, frequencies, Chi-square tests and linear regression and ANOVA. The Cronbach’s alpha was used to measure reliability of the research results. The research findings established that training in business skills and related types of skills was essential for the success of a business. The findings further showed that, due to training, there was improvement in sales, annual turnover, and product quality and employee skills. Recommendations included advice to invest in human capital through training which then should improve the quality of products. Further studies in other regions other than the Eastern Cape Province were recommended.

Considering that Mpumalanga province has a large petrochemical plant owned by a multinational company that runs and owns mines, the province should abound with employment opportunities for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college graduates, especially those from the local Gert Sibande TVET College. However, students with TVET college qualifications struggle to attract employment. Therefore, this study explored the question, “What can TVET providers in Mpumalanga do to enhance students’ employability?” The research was conducted in a selected TVET college in the province. The study employed a qualitative approach and an interpretive paradigm. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, focus groups and document analysis. The identities of all respondents were protected. Upon analysis of the results, several measures that the TVET college, stakeholders and employers could employ, emerged. There was a lack of proper skills for graduates, qualifications without relevance and employers hardly acknowledging the TVET college qualifications. Some of the recommendations made include collaboration, relationship building between stakeholders and revision of the National Certificate (Vocational) [NC-(V)] curriculum. Topics for future research are also suggested. / Educational Management and Leadership / M. Ed. (Education Management)