Exploring capacity development programmes for socio-economic transformation in South Africa : a case study of the South African petroleum industry

Abstract

Capacity development programmes in the workplace, whether in the public or private sectors, play a strategic role through increasing the ability of people, organisations, and societies to cope with or adapt to challenging and adverse circumstances that affect the organisations or systems that societies depend upon. Capacity development programmes are an approach that addresses, in a continuous manner, specific issues at institutional/organisational, socio-economic, environmental, and infrastructural levels, with the aim of improving the delivery of adequate services; boosting organisational competitive advantages; improving productivity; and meeting sustainable development goals. In the workplace, capacity development is a significant socio-economic resource and a foremost key factor that can guarantee the development of employees’ skills, abilities, talents, performance, and value, as well as enabling organisational perspectives for improved innovation, efficiency, and sustainable growth. This study examined capacity development programmes as a tactical approach, suitable for tackling and bridging the gaps of technical skills shortages, skills waste and the deficit of positive human capital capacity affecting the South African society and petroleum industry respectively. The vision and mission statements of capacity development programmes are to continually equip, build and develop positive, creative, and innovative human capital capacity with functional, technical, and behavioural capacities to convey organisational and societal change through supporting people knowledge, skills, talents, capacities or abilities improvement and development in various spheres of socio-economic activities. The focus of this study was to describe the role that capacity development programmes could play in the petroleum industry for socio-economic transformation in South Africa, through the case study of the South African petroleum industry. It also examined the critical factors affecting the best practice of policies, programmes and strategic plans that support structures of human capital capacity development in the workplace and the challenges obstructing the effective best practice of capacity development programmes on job-related skills development of employees in the South i African petroleum industry. Therefore, the triangulation methods assisted the researcher with using more than one approach as sources of data collection and analysis process and by approaching data with various theories or perspectives in mind to extend the possibilities of bridging the gaps of technical skills shortage, skills waste and the deficit of positive human capital capacity affecting the South African petroleum industry. This method was useful in producing knowledge from diverse viewpoints upon matters that were discussed in this study. The triangulation methods facilitated the researcher in terms of gathering and converging quantitative and qualitative data from petroleum companies that are members of the South African Petroleum Industry Association (SAPIA). Therefore, the quantitative survey combined with qualitative in-depth interviews provided a better understanding of the information obtained. In this study, the PESTIE framework was applied in line with the aim and objectives defined for this research. However, only the political, economic, and social variables were examined to identify the challenges and effects of capacity development programmes in the process of developing technical skills, controlling/minimising skills waste and developing positive human capital capacity in the South African petroleum industry. Accordingly, findings indicated that (87.6%) challenges affecting the petroleum industry development and socio-economic transformation in South Africa are mostly caused by the lack of policies, programmes, and strategic plans best practice to bridging the gaps of technical skills shortages, skills waste, and the deficit of positive human capital capacity in the workplace. In addition, respondents (77.6%) affirmed that policies improvement and best practice could be a vital key in promoting scarce skills development in the South African petroleum industry. Furthermore, respondents (78.6%) agreed that awareness campaigns about capacity development programmes best practice in the South African petroleum industry could fuel the engine of technical, functional, and behavioural capacities development, and put in place a locomotive of organisational improved competitive advantages (innovation, productivity, and performance improvement) and socio-economic transformation. Moreover, respondents (73.7%) agreed that an improved/developed model of capacity development programmes in the workplace could be a sine qua non condition for scarce skills (technical skills) development and retention in the South African petroleum industry. Therefore, the CDP-PUSH-Effects model that comprises the Big Push and Push-Pull strategies associated with reactive, proactive, and active approaches was suggested as an indispensable tool, useful in tackling the critical matters of technical skills shortages, skills waste and the deficit of positive human capital capacity affecting the South African petroleum industry and society. Accordingly, more awareness, resources and efforts from role-key players (policy-makers, decision-makers and stakeholders) would be required towards supporting the scarce skills development process and strengthening employees’ ability to deliver quality services as well as deal with unpredicted adverse events that could prevent the petroleum industry’s development and socio-economic transformation processes in the country.