NATIONAL SKILLS CONFERENCE 2011 Investing in skills to secure a better future for all Strengthening the Skills Development Implementation and Oversight/Advisory Structures A BARK, A BITE OR A BUREAUCRACY? Oct 2011 RONEL BLOM

Presentation Outline: As I see it… The assumptions, (or ‘a bark, a bite or a bureaucracy’) The symptoms, (or ‘the left and the right hand’) The consequences, (or ‘cut off the feet of the patient to fit on the bed’) The way forward (or ‘a camel or a horse?’)

Barkers, Biters and Bureaucracies Starting from scratch, but of course we didn’t … Proliferation of new bodies The Barkers – extensive mandates, but without the means to enforce, e.g. SAQA The Biters – quality assurance bodies, but without the will to coordinate, e.g. CHE and the SETA ETQAs The Bureaucracies – the ‘real (old) power’? Funding and regulation. Oh yes, and then there are the ‘newbies’, e.g. the QCTO, with an overlapping mandate And, the voluntary bodies, e.g. APPETD; the advisory bodies, e.g. NBFET And, the professional bodies (statutory and non-statutory)

The Left Hand and the Right Hand ‘…having all sectors of learning within one framework, subject to the same overall scheme of recognition, reflects the government’s policy that each sector relates to others and must be equally valued’ (DoE&DoL, 2002, p. 12) Instead: Silo’s – ETQAs, National Departments, Provincial Departments Public system, Private system Conceptually different approaches to qualifications Conceptually different approaches to quality assurance Different statuses in the system; power relationships, e.g. ‘the tension between ETQAs due to overlapping responsibilities is keenly felt and this seems to be compounded by the feeling that some ETQAs are more powerful than others’ (SAQA, 2005, p. 73) Different trajectories

Cut off the feet of the patient to fit on the bed… Function following form… Recognition of prior learning Credit accumulation and transfer Parity of esteem Progression pathways Misalignment Registration and accreditation A public NQF and a private NQF Different strokes for different okes Introduction of more structures QCTO; NEEDU Fighting for turf Duplication, duplication, duplication!

A Camel or a Horse What do we want to achieve? Do we agree on what we want to achieve? Do we have a common understanding of what it is that we want to achieve? Have we considered everything? Are we aware of the full context within which we work? Are the beneficiaries top of mind? Who are the beneficiaries? What are the possible unintended consequences? Have we considered how the skills system fits into the rest of the system? Do we want it to? Are we making educationally sound decisions? Do we want a camel or a horse?

Conclusion Form follows function Define a common vision (2030?) Refine/align the policies Ensure that policies are enabling, not inhibiting Delineate the linkages Do the deliberate work to establish the articulation pathways Move away from the ‘valorization of policy and start to interrogate practice’ (Jansen, 2004) No matter how good our policies Go beyond the symbolism and the rhetoric Decide who should do what… Establish/reinforce/expand the necessary structures to ensure that our system makes educational sense for the good of the beneficiaries (and the economy and the country….!)