# SAQA sent the following notice to all stakeholders

The South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) is tasked with overseeing the development and implementation of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). SAQA's progress over the past four years in the fulfilment of its statutory mandate has been significant and its social partners acknowledge its strategic importance in the development of an integrated education and training system, vital for transformation. SAQA's achievements to date can be attributed to a large extent to the co-operation and engagement of our stakeholders with the issues of policy and implementation.

It is against this background that SAQA welcomes and supports the focused study of the development of the NQF, commissioned by the Ministers of Education and Labour. The study will commence on 23 July 2001 and is envisaged to be concluded within four to five months.

The intention of this process is to strengthen SAQA in its implementation of the NQF. Through reflective study, analysis and strategy development, the focused study will make recommendations to the Ministers of Education and Labour. These recommendations will enable improvement, honing of implementation and removal of blockages and obstacles to the NQF. Through this process, the stakeholders in education and training will be able to contribute meaningfully to the continued development and delivery of the objectives of the NQF and the establishment of a culture of high quality life-long learning in South Africa. SAQA encourages stakeholders to continue their support for the development of the NQF, through active and constructive participation in this important initiative.

# Human Resources Management Practices SGB (Standards Generating Body)

The field analysis, which was presented to and further developed by the 3^rd Plenary Meeting of People Management Stakeholders held on 23 March 1999, identified human resources management and practices to be that part of management that is concerned with:

• All the decisions, strategies, factors, principles, operations, practices, functions, activities and methods related to the management of people as employees in any type of organisation (including small and micro enterprises and virtual organisations).
• All the dimensions related to people in their employment relationships, and all the dynamics that flow from it (including in the realisation of the potential of individual employees in terms of their aspirations).
• All aimed at adding value to the delivery of goods and services, as well as to the quality of work life for employees, and hence helping to ensure continuous organisational success in transformative environments.

The scope of human resources management and practices was described in terms
of four role clusters related to people management processes (some are
inter-linked), in which practitioners (both line management and people
management professionals) perform in organisations:

>> PLANNING AND ORGANISING FOR WORK AND PEOPLE MANAGEMENT

• Strategic planning (including employment equity planning)
• Organisational design
• Formulating policies
• Developing systems and procedures (information, compensation, administration)

>> PEOPLE ACQUISITION, DEVELOPMENT AND UTILISATION

• Staffing the organisation
• Motivating and leading employees
• Employee training & development
• Career management
• Performance management
• Utilising and managing diversity
• Managing organisational change, transformation and development

>> ESTABLISHING AND IMPROVING LABOUR AND EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

• Maintaining and improving conditions of service
• Communicating and interacting with employees and their representatives
• Interacting and negotiating with trade unions and employee representatives
• Drafting and implementing collective agreements
• Managing conflict, co-operation and industrial democracy (including disciplinary and grievance matters, dispute resolution, industrial action, employee participation and union/management collaboration maintaining fairness and employment equity)

>> MAINTENANCE AND ADMINISTRATION RELATED TO PEOPLE MANAGEMENT

• Compensation management
• Managing information
• Administering pay and benefit systems
• Managing budgets and finances related to human resources management and practices
• Reporting on human resources management and practices issues and processes
• Evaluating the quality and value added by human resources management and practices
• Research related to human resources management and practices

# Supportive generic competencies

The field analysis identified a number of generic competencies outside the human resources management and practices field that support practitioners in people management processes:

• Project management
• Consulting competencies
• Entrepreneurship
• Self-management
• Communication competencies
• Facilitation competencies
• Presentation competencies
• Competencies for transforming groups into self-directed mutually controlled high performing work teams
• Trans-cultural competencies
• Mediation & arbitration competencies
• Financial competencies
• Problem-solving
• Diagnostic competencies.

These competencies may feature in either the fundamental or elective categories when constructing human resources management and practices qualifications.

For more details and the draft standards and qualifications go to http://www.hrsgb.org.za