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Across The Board: Official Newsletter Of The SA Board For Personnel Practice By Human V Rensburg CEO of SABPP who can be contacted at sabpp@mweb.co.za --------------------------------------------------------------------- # Corporate HR & The SABPP After a turbulent phase of major changes to human resource development of educational structures or programmes, greater stability and clarity has now been reached. This is leading to the phenomenon of corporates translating this into various internal contexts. Some examples of this are that corporates are: >> Embarking on their own internal RPL (recognition of prior learning) processes to give career recognition to the people who have developed the systems for their own companies >> Setting up internal educational support for HR professionals employed to enhance the Company's capacity in this field >> Aligning their HR career ladders to the SABPP NQF aligned levels >> Supplying benefits based on the professional regis- tration levels attained by their HR staff >> Providing consulting services on career planning to all employees >> Registering assessors and moderators with ETQAs and SDFs with SETAs The Board is being contacted by corporates with various questions on these issues:. How can we prepare for best use of the proposed HR legislation? What should in-house HR training be focusing on? What can be done if the "right" unit standards for HR have not yet been developed given our own perspective? The SABPP would like to extend a hand of help and friendship to corporates. There are various ways in which we can work together to up the standard of HR being delivered in South Africa. In-house training for HR Practitioners. The Board is of the opinion that as far as formal training is concerned, the wheel should not be re-invented. State funded public institutions giving HR education should be utilised optimally. A logical in-house development programme for HR with a unique corporate culture, company identity and clear company values should, however, be determined by the internal debate of the company to achieve the best results. Ensuring continued professional development through in-house training which is consistent with the SABPP requirements would not only ensure that the company is served by HR professionals who are kept abreast of the latest developments, but also that registered professionals are aligned with broader national standards. Should in-house training be done in the context of courses accredited by an ETQA, and the company is not able to find HR unit standards that satisfies certain needs, it is possible for such a company to develop the complete unit standard as per national guidelines. This can then be submitted to the SABPP ETQA or to the Standards Generating Body for HR Management and Practice who will test the unit standard and register this on the NQF through SAQA. # Internal RPL Aligned To SABPP Process For Professional Registration Internal RPL aligned to SABPP Process for professional registration. The SABPP has been approached by big corporates who have their own internal RPL processes for HR staff on how to slot this in with the SABPP process. It is possible to apply the work that has already been done in this regard to the SABPP RPL process for professional registration. It will be necessary to satisfy the SABPP that the standard of the in-house RPL meets national criteria, but once this has been agreed upon, the portfolio of evidence produced by the company's process may be tendered to the SABPP. A panel interview with Mentors of the Board can then be arranged to make a final decision on registration level of the candidate with the SABPP. It may even be possible for corporates to recognize their own specialist categories for internal use in collaboration with SABPPBy attaching their HR standards to the national standards companies will be strengthening their own structures. HR Directors are invited to contact me personally to set up an appointment to discuss future cooperation in any of the above-mentioned areas. # Formal Qualifications And The HR Profession In a recent book edited by Mike Loser, Sue Meisinger and Dave Ulrich entitled "The Future of Human Resource Management", internationally recognized leaders in the HR profession take the role of formal training and a strong educational background for granted. For instance they say:" Like most business professionals, human resource (HR) professionals need a strong educational background to be successful. That education, however, needs to be quite varied." (ibid:63) "HR is a profession with standards that certify proficiency across a range of competencies. Although the formal training to ensure functional excellence is key, it is imperative that HR Leaders acquire the broad range of competencies necessary for success." (ibid:75) Given statements of that nature, what then of those of our colleagues who were previously disadvantaged and possibly not able to take up those studies needed to enter the HR profession by the normal route? The SABPP is keenly aware of the need to formulate a policy to deal with the desire of such individuals to register as HR professionals. The advances in recognition of prior learning and its formal recognition by the SA Qualifications Authority make it possible for the SABPP to draft a formal policy to deal with applications from previously disadvantaged colleagues. However, so as not to devalue the professional nature of human resources in South Africa it is necessary for the SABPP to maintain a fine balance between giving proper recognition where this is due and to maintaining the internationally accepted norm to which all professions adhere, namely that formal studies are a prerequisite for entering a profession. Recognition of prior learning must never be seen to be the prime way to the profession. It is and must remain the exception to the rule of formal education and directed experience. Due to the way in which management operates, there will always be a percentage of atypically trained HR practitioner contenders. This is a world phenomenon and it will remain the SABPP's obligation to continually assess this environment. Recognition of prior learning should also not be seen as the quick and easy way of achieving a higher level of registration. If an academic institution finds it necessary to cover a full course domain in a sizable chunk of time with its students then there can be no identifying a gap in your competence, doing a quick course and then upping your registration level. At best once recognized and registered at a level that has taken competence (knowledge, skills and values) into account, any further advancement up the ladder should require achievement of a recognised formal qualification. A whole new generation is entering the field of human resources. The SABPP can report with pride that almost all of the incoming younger and previously disadvantaged generation is qualified academically. The formal policy for the recognition of prior learning will serve as a useful tool to open doors for those who deserve it, but like any exception to the norm, it should be applied cautiously and wisely. |
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