City of Johannesburg conducts a skills audit

A professional public service is the backdrop on which to build a capable state.
However, this desire for a professional public service will be a pipedream if there is no focus on skills development, up-skilling and placement of employees in jobs for which they are qualified and suited.
Having concluded Level 2 and 3 of the skills audit in 2017 with an impressive participation rate of 98%, it was therefore necessary to move with speed and proceed to Level 3 and 4.
In March 2018, the Skills Audit was rolled out to 639 employees on Levels 3 and 4, but only 552 participated in various psychometric assessment batteries in order to gauge their talent levels.
The exercise was undertaken in a phased approach to ensure that employees in the Core Administration and Municipal Entities (ME’s) are fit for purpose.
City Employees on Level 2, 3 and 4 are expected to be on Level 3, 4 and 5 of the CPP (Cognitive Process Profile) scale but the outcome of the audit found them operating below Level 3, which means they are more operational than strategic.
“Mayor Mashaba was pleased to announce that despite initial anxiety and cynicism experienced by employees and a late start due to operational issues, the City achieved an 86% participation rate. “I however wish to raise concerns that the 100% target we set for ourselves was not achieved and that the Skills Audit is compulsory for all employees,” he said.
He urged all managers to take action against any employee/s who refused to take part in the Skills Audit. Consequence management must be applied to those officials.
Through the Skills Audit exercise we learnt that:
• That HR is an integrated process and weakness in one of the processes will affect the whole HR value chain, thus we need to relook the way we recruit, train, performance manage and reward.
• It is essential not just to win the minds of our employees, but also their hearts through a vigorous change management process.
• That the golden thread is always to have an honest, open and constructive two-way communication through ongoing employee engagement to drive the change effort.
One of the positive outcomes from the exercise is that the City knows its areas for development and this will assist us in redirecting the City’s already approved training development initiatives towards employees who need it most.
The way forward is that gaps identified in the audit are going to be put into Employees’ Developmental Plans and training will be provided accordingly.
“As we are building onto the success of the previous Skills Audit Levels 2, 3 and 4, we are also now in the process of appointing a service provider to roll out audits on all Levels 5 and 6 employees.
“I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to all employees who participated in the success of this project, as well as all the committed officials who are working tirelessly behind the scenes.
“Once again, I wish to reiterate that we are not carrying this exercise as a punitive measure against any employee of the City or its entities.
“Any queries related to the Skills Audit must be directed to the Human Resource Department.
“The journey to professionalise the City of Joburg and make it work for the citizenry is on track,” he concluded.