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Faculty of Management Sciences

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Start date: 2020Subject: search.filters.subject.Career development--South Africa

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    Developing an integrated systems thinking approach to assessment of work integrated learning at Universities of Technology
    (2024) Reddy, Radha; Skinner, Jane; Green, Paul
    Work integrated Learning (WIL) is understood as a component in the successful attainment of a qualification within an appropriate field, assisting significantly in accomplishing the graduate attributes as demanded by employers. WIL calls for the practical exposure and engagement of students in the workplace that is seen as the first point of transition from higher education into the world of work (WoW). WIL is reliant on the attainment of various skills all of which need assessment in order to authenticate their achievement. It has been documented that challenges exist with the management of WIL as it involves engagement between three parties, the higher education institution, the student and industry (the external partner). One of these challenges is the assessment of WIL, which currently presents a disjointed, complex situation within a qualification, presenting the need for a more planned, systematic approach for successful implementation. Another challenge inherent in this assessment is the engagement of two learning sites and the inclusion of the activities of three partners within the assessment of each student. The active role of students in their own assessment activities is required if attainment of graduate attributes is to be achieved within a student-centred approach, while the involvement of various assessors with varied abilities being responsible for assessing WIL trainees within varied industry environments all presents a situation full of inconsistencies in practice. The focus of this study is therefore on establishing an optimum system of assessment of WIL within a complex situation involving an integrated approach which will also allow for flexibility of practice within the numerous sectors of industry. The study adopted a Systems Thinking theoretical framework, with specific reference to Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), which focussed on identifying interconnectivity within the practices of assessment of WIL. The study is anchored in the interpretivist paradigm and implemented a mixed methods design, allowing for a triangulation of the findings for a clearer understanding of the practice of assessment within WIL. Five of the six Universities of Technology (UoTs) in South Africa, were included as the study population. Two departments from the Management Sciences Faculty of each UoT were selected based on their offering of the WIL programme. The study population included the Academic WIL co-ordinators, industry mentors and students who had undergone WIL training. Quantitative data (questionnaires) complemented and supplemented qualitative data (interviews) in strengthening the analysis and the interpretation of the findings. Quantitative data was analysed by a statistician adopting the SPSS software package, while the qualitative data was coded into themes and categories by the researcher. From the data analysis it emerged that for a successful practice of assessment of WIL to be attained, it is important that WIL becomes an integrated practice within a qualification, with scaffolded assessment activities throughout the qualification, designed to promote and develop student Learning, Teaching and Assessment (LTA) activities, allowing for a holistic assessment of WIL and WIL related activities. It is clearly in the interest of all WIL stakeholders to ensure the success of this process. It emerged that assessment of WIL needs to be incorporated as a mix of authentic cocreated activities that are not reliant on one assessor, but the product of integrated activities of the key partners (academic WIL co-ordinator, industry mentor and the student). The study presents a model for the attainment of this integrated assessment of WIL, in the context of the identified theoretical framework, the literature reviewed and the analysis of findings of this study. The study recommends that WIL practitioners adopt the integrated model of assessment of WIL with inclusion of scaffolded WIL activities within the curriculum and foster a relationship of inclusivity between students, WIL practitioners and Industry mentors in engaging in assessment of WIL. It is also recommended that a community of practice is established holistically within an institution, amongst other institutions of education as well as the industry partners.
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    The influence of workplace skills plan on human capital development at the eThekweni Municipality
    (2021-05) Madonda, Sandine Ewart; Ajagbe, Musibau Akintunde
    The proposed input of this empirical study was the formulation of an exploratory Workplace Skills Plan model aimed at discovering the link between the effect of Workplace Skills Plan and human resource development that the organisation achieves its objectives. It is therefore important to state that the problem identified is a chronic poor performance of the organisation because of the lack of critical skills at the local government level. This was achieved by determining the influence of Workplace Skills Plan towards Human Capital Development at the eThekwini Municipality. The study used a quantitative research method to obtain the determined research objectives. Non- probability sampling technique was used to collect data from the targeted population. Convenience sampling technique was used to generate sample of the study. The researcher selected respondents who completed, signed and returned 2018-2019 WSP forms during consultation and meeting with their managers. The researcher did not send the questionnaires to employees who were trained in the same period but did not complete the WSP forms. The data for these delegates is available on Document Record System, which is human resource system where eThekwini Municipality keep track of WSP. The structured self-administered questionnaire was used as a tool for data collection. In this study, 279 respondents completed and returned the questionnaire. The study used a data analysis instrument called Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS version 20) and AMOS version 20. The results suggest that there is a critical role played by Workplace Skills Plan on Human Capital Development in the workplace. This agrees with what another research in the same field have observed. Data analysis showed that Workplace Skills Plan is useful in boosting the overall human capital development in the workplace and therefore can be used as a tool of Human Capital Development. Workplace Skills Plans assist companies to adjust to labour market flexibility and train for what the market requires and to maximise the returns from the large investment in skills and tertiary qualifications. The findings of this study indicate that training and development have a direct and indirect positive effect on Human Capital Development. The study recommends that organisations maximise effective development of human capital development initiatives to sustain effective organisational performance, improve employee performance, productivity, employee competencies, efficiency, effectiveness, and long-term organisational success. Thus, municipalities must invest in their existing human capital through taking care of their development needs to ensure sustained organisational performance and attainment of organisational goals.
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    Career advancement of tourism and hospitality management graduates : the case of Walter Sisulu University, Eastern Cape
    (2020-01) Stemele, Lukanyo; Sucheran, Reshma
    Hospitality graduates are entering the industry without an accurate understanding of the sector, and this could be the reason for many leaving employment in the industry (Brown, Arendt and Bosselman 2014:1). Graduates in South Africa have unrealistic expectations of employment in the tourism and hospitality industry and tend to exit the industry within few years after joining it as they are faced with a number of challenges (Sibanyoni, Kleynhans and Vibetti 2015:13). Perceptions and attitudes of tourism and hospitality graduates towards employment in the industry are not clearly understood. The focus of this study was to investigate perceptions on career advancement of tourism and hospitality graduates at Walter Sisulu University in the Eastern Cape. The quantitative approach was adopted using structured online questionnaires to collect primary data. The population comprised of graduates in the Tourism and Hospitality Department from Walter Sisulu University, who graduated between the years 2004 to 2014. Simple random sampling was used to obtain a representative sample of 133 tourism and hospitality graduates. The key findings of the study reveal that the majority of respondents were currently employed in the tourism and hospitality industry on a full-time basis. Respondents who were working in the tourism and hospitality sector indicated that expectations in this employment sector were not adequately met. Respondents who are employed in other sectors showed a higher job satisfaction compared to those employed in the tourism and hospitality sector. The results further revealed that graduates employed in the tourism and hospitality sector were faced with far more challenges than those employed in other industry sectors. Even though previous studies on perceptions and attitudes of tourism and hospitality graduates towards employment in the industry indicated that graduates tend to exit the industry within few years after joining it, the current study findings indicate that the majority of graduates are still employed in the tourism and hospitality sector