Rebuilding the Human Resource Capital in the Road Sector

1. Rebuilding the Human Resource Capital in the Road Sector RPF E Cape 6/7 May 2008

2. Background • CAPSA 07 (Summary paper; Jooste, Myburgh & Sampson) “Overall, the review of CAPSA 07 outcomes has shown that implementation of available knowledge and tools is the domain in which most challenges remain, and in which the least progress has been made. A key cause of this is the lack of appropriate growth in human resources, and the associated loss of experienced practitioners for various reasons. A clear conclusion of CAPSA 2007 is thus that progress made with respect to asphalt pavements for southern Africa is critically dependent on human resource development, and on the development of design tools and technology transfer mechanisms that are suited to the current human resource realities of the region.” • Sabita Digest paper on HRD, capacity building and skills development

10. Road Infrastructure Expenditure compared with total infrastructure expenditure

11. MTEF per Infrastructure sector(2007 – 2010 total)

12. Questions Can the road sector deliver? Do we have the human resources? What can be done?

13. Other Challenges • Acceleration of the transformation process • Maths & Science legacy • Increase in labour component • EPWP • Generation gap • Professional profile

14. Management of delivery • Network owners/managers of 530 000 kms of proclaimed roads • SANRAL 16 000 km • Provinces 346 000 km • Municipalities 168 000 km • 220 000kms unproclaimed

15. Public Sector Capacity(after RISFSA, 2006) SANRAL – 149 (2007 annual report)

16. Provincial Capacity(Treasury Survey, August 2006) • Highlighted many problems • Summary • Understaffed • Many of the staff are under-qualified • Top managers interfere rather than guide • Current legislation creates a negative environment • Departmental systems needs to be streamlined to improve delivery

17. Summary of Recommendations • PDOTs need to do more to attract and retain skilled personnel • critically review organograms in terms of qualifications, skills & salary • Competitive salaries • Critical attention to skills deficit • Training, bursaries, mentorship schemes, site experience • Experience is time related • Discourage the practice of placing non-engineering staff in engineering management roles • Well maintained Asset Management Systems essential • Streamline admin systems • More emphasis on technical competence in procurement • Consultants should be members of SAACE where possible • Contracts awarded to established contractors who should retain sub-contractors based on training and competency

18. Municipal/Local Government Capacity • SAICE “Numbers and Needs study” – Nov 2007 by Allison Lawless • Similar situation to Provinces • 5 to 10 year window to turn around the skills decline • Concludes skills, leadership and a turnaround strategy are urgently needed • To ensure sustainability: • Long term plans – 10 to 20 year horizons • Leadership needs a paradigm shift (ideological agendas to sustainable service delivery) • Relationship between Councils & Administration • Municipal managers should be visionary leaders • Clear need for experience • Different equity targets for different age groups

19. Municipal/Local Government Capacity (cont ..) • Current civil engineering staff in local government between 1 300 & 1 400 • Net loss 70 to 90 per year since late 80s • Currently 3 engineers per 100 000 population • Previously 21 engineers/100 000 • If this decline continues service delivery at local government level will all but come to a standstill

20. Lawless Plan to Rebuild Capacity in Local Governments • Municipalities (and Provinces) to step up technical appointments and attract as many back into the sector as possible. • The public sector to offer and coordinate support and set conditions for sustainability. • Deployment of students and graduates on long-term workplace training contracts. • Consultants to second experienced municipal (provincial) staff to run departments and rebuild internal capacity. • In some instances, an “adopt-a-town” strategy whereby the private sector is appointed on a turnkey basis to address backlogs, and refurbish and rebuild long-term structures, systems and capacity per municipality

21. The “Bottom Line” in the Public Sector • Capacity to deliver essential services at Municipal and Provincial levels is critical and needing urgent attention • Leadership needs to be reviewed as current policies are not achieving the infrastructure delivery goals • Strong leadership required to manage the change • Time to harness, optimise and build the scarce resources available for infrastructure development and maintenance (of which roads is a major component) without the constraints of politics, age, gender and race

22. Private Sector Capacity(Roads & Bridges sector - after RISFSA, 2006)

23. Supply chain from enrolment to professional registration takes a minimum of 7 years and more than 10 years to have the required experience Trends presented in RISFSA to 2002 with some only to 1997 More up-to-date survey urgently required to identify current trends and evaluate whether current supply will meet the needs for next 10 – 15 years Supply of Civil Engineers, Technologists and Technicians

24. Observations from the RISFSA figures • Students enrolling at universities between 1993 and 1997 remained constant at 2 000/year • Students who graduated declined from 1 500 to 1 200. • Students enrolling at Technikons between 1993 and 1997 doubled from 4 000 to 8 000 • Students who graduated remained fairly constant at 3 000/year. • Registered civil engineers was 6 900 in 1998 and had decreased to 6 400 by 2002 of which 20 – 30 percent (approximately 1 700) are active in the roads and bridges sector. • Registered technicians were 1 595 in 1998, peaked at 1615 in 2000 and fell back to about 1 595 in 2002. • The gap between the number of white and black engineers registering has closed significantly. • Between 1998 and 2001, the number of black registered technicians increased significantly to a point where black registrations exceeded those of whites.

25. International Comparisons • SA’s rate is 0.33/1 000 population • Factor of 10 lower than most other countries • Suggests the road sector needs 17 000 engineers not 1 700

26. Estimated Needs • Current status quo in road sector is approximately 138 000 employees • 1 300 to 1 900 are registered civil engineers • RISFSA considered 5 scenarios from 2003/04 • Continue with the current investment levels; • A gradual increase in investment in the road industry to R6 million per annum after 5 years; • An additional R6 billion invested within the 2003/04 financial year; • A gradual increase in investment in the road industry to an additional R12 million per annum after 5 years; • An additional R12 billion invested within the 2003/04 financial year • MTEF suggests scenario 4 is the closest

27. Road Infrastructure Expenditure compared with total infrastructure expenditure R22.6b R11.6b

28. Forecast of number of employees for the 5 year period Figures for public sector, consultants and contractors available

29. Observations from needs assessment • Current capacity cannot deliver on the MTEF plans • An average 7% annual increase across the skills level required in next 5 years • 9 230 in year 1 • 47 000 over the 5 year period • General shortage of highly skilled professional with the majority over 45 years of age • Road sector requires 1000 additional skilled professionals in year 1 increasing to 5 000 by year 5

30. Realistic strategies • Short term • Recruitment or secondment of foreign experts through competitive packages • Development of a holistic sustainable skills development plan • Longer term • Implementation of the plan • Improving the throughput at tertiary institutions • Mentorship towards professional registration • Promotion of the industry at schools level • Review of qualifications and training interventions at all levels to meet industry needs

31. Summary of the current situation • Industry in a growth phase after years after years of neglect • Human resources and skills seriously depleted, especially in the public sector • Cannot realistic meet all the demands for delivery • Too large fluctuation in funding • Limited leadership from DoT • RISFSA positive • Skills development and HR growth only a priority in the last 2 years • Inappropriate qualifications at all levels • CETA; Materials testing; Pavement Engineering • No coordinated approach to HR capacity building • Some positives (eg TRAC, SANRAL Chair, AsAc, SARF short courses, T² Centres, CoDs) • Mainly CPD focus • Outdated documentation that form our skills base

32. What can we DO? • Not a quick fix situation • Coordinated approach • RISFSA “The shortcomings identified with road service delivery include to a large extent failure in coordination processes, structures and mechanisms” (eg COLTO/COTO) • Roads Coordinating Body (RCB) proposed as a critical element to streamlining and coordinating service delivery across all spheres of government

33. Functions of the RCB • To oversee technical studies that are commissioned by the DOT in consultation with roads authorities, to determine the state of the road network, identify key challenges and backlogs and determine future requirements; • Identifying and scheduling key priority areas jointly with roads authorities in order to allow the latter to prioritise the allocation of funds; • To collect information and oversee the development of policies and models in order to advise roads authorities on roads planning, prioritisation and financing strategies and delivery management processes; • Facilitation, coordination and oversight of the development of strategies, plans, standards and guidelines for road service delivery in line with government priorities; • Coordination of road sector support, including other relevant stakeholders eg: SALGA, DPLG and National Treasury, for the implementation of key government programmes; • Monitoring and evaluation of roads service delivery in order to ensure that investment achieves the desired impact; and • To promote the implementation of the recommendations of the strategic framework

34. How will this be achieved without building HR capacity and skills?

35. Road Engineering Coordinating Body(RECOB) • Strategic coordination of human capital development in the road sector in line with the RISFSA document with alignment of the road sector initiatives to the broader skills development initiatives driven by the Government’s Joint Initiative in Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA); • Coordination of education at tertiary institutions and through the SAQA/CETA structures; • Information sharing and dissemination for continued professional development; • Coordination and management of best-practice documentation, standards and specifications in support of RCB initiatives; • Coordination of research activities in support of best-practice;

36. Road Engineering Coordinating Body Strategic Support & Coordination of Skills Development Information sharing & dissemination Education & Training Coordination Best-practice documentation Research Coordination RECOB Strategic Trust Areas

37. RECOB • Support structure to RCB and RISFSA • Private sector driven for quick implementation • Management Executive of sponsor organisations • Public/Private Advisory Board • Independent coordinating interface for road engineering • Should not run courses in competition to current service providers (eg SARF, AsAc, C&CI, tertiary institutions) • Process driven by RPF sponsors • Business plan prepared for discussion • Questionnaire

38. Conclusions • MTEF shows the road sector is entering a growth phase • 15 years of a depressed industry allied alternative priorities and agendas has left the industry seriously depleted in skills and capacity at all levels • Current capacity will not meet the delivery targets • Foreign recruitment a reality in short term • There is no quick-fix solution • Based on a 5-year scenario • 7% annual increase across all skills levels • 9 230 extra in year 1 to 47 000 in year 5 • 1 000 extra skilled professional increasing to 5 000 • 15 year window to transfer knowledge and build a vibrant and experienced work force • Needs to be supported by a sustained road infrastructure growth strategy

39. Conclusions cont.. • Large fluctuations in funding should be prevented for sustainability • Don’t pull the plug in 5 – 10 years!! • Capacity at Provincial and Municipal levels is a serious bottleneck to delivery and requires urgent attention • Coordinated approach to skills development and capacity building in the road sector is an essential prerequisite to improving efficiency and effectiveness of road sector delivery • RECOB established as a matter of urgency in support of the RCB to coordinate skills development and associated best-practice support documentation to facilitate the rebuilding of human capital • Increased Private sector involvement