An investigation of the implementation of the training and development programme in the department of arts and culture, head office: KwaZulu-Natal.

Abstract

Training and development of employees is encouragedby the Skills Development Act (97 of 1998) which encourages organisations to develop employees and to instill a culture of learning in the workplace. To further ensure that training and development is achieved, organisations should have systems and strategies in place that are linked to the highlighted strategies. This study aims to investigate and to get the insights of employees into the overall implementation of training and development in the Department of Arts and Culture, which seems to be lacking. There is no systematic training and development process that is followed to guide the overall impementation and evaluation of the programme. Training needs for employees are conducted in this Department. However the implementation and allocation of thetraining programme is not clear. People at lower levels are complaining that they do not get training programmes allocated to them and, because of this, they are not productive. The main objective of this study was to investigate the Implementation of training and Development in the KZN Arts and Culture Department. The objectives of the study include: To examine how the training needs are identified in the Department of Arts and Culture and to prioritise the training and development of employees. To determine how the allocation and implementation of training programmes are conducted at the KZN Department of Arts and Culture and to ensure that all employees get access to training. To assess whether or not there are any challenges encountered by employees and the Human Resource Manager in the delivery of training in the KZN Department of Arts and Culture. To establish whether or not training and development programmes in the KZN Department of Arts and Culture get evaluated to assess their success or failure. This study used both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Stratified purposive sampling was utilised in this study. The research sample included thirty-eight participants. The study used questionnaires to collect data. Quantitative data was analysed through the application of the SPSS 23. Qualitative data was also analysed using thematic analysis. Thereafter, findings of the study were analysed, interpreted and discussed. This study has shown that there is overwhelming evidence to substantiate the claim that training and development is not adequately provided for in the KZN Arts and Culture division. Whilst training - needs analysis is conducted, the findings revealed that training programmes are rarely provided for the respondents. Additionally, the findings have shown that there is no systematic training and development model used by the KZN Department of Arts and Culture. This study revealed that there are challenges that negatively impact on the implementation of training and development, including lack of budget and delays in supply - chain logistics. Further to that, the findings have shown that training and development is not evaluated in the KZN Department of Arts and Culture. Therefore, these results indicate that the policy and strategies of the Department regarding training and development should be reviewed. Failing which, the Department is going to continue to have unskilled labour or incompetent workers. The Human Resource Practitioners should ensure the provision of systematic training and development of the workers.