Development of Capacity & Recruitment & Retention of Social Service Professionals:briefing
Social Development
25 October 2006
Meeting Summary
A summary of this committee meeting is not yet available.
Meeting report
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT PORTFOLIO
COMMITTEE
25 October 2006
DEVELOPMENT OF CAPACITY AND RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF SOCIAL SERVICE
PROFESSIONALS: DEPARTMENT BRIEFING
Chairperson: Ms T S Tshivhase (ANC)
Documents handed out:
Development of
Capacity and Recruitment and Retention of Social Service Professionals
Telephone List of DSD Senior Managers
Proposed Organizational structure and Post establishment for the Department of
Social Development: Part1, Part2, Part3 & Part4
Draft Report on the
study tour by the Portfolio Committee on Social Development to the South
African Social Security Agency’s (SASSA) Head-Office, Pretoria (Gauteng); and the regional offices in the Eastern Cape
(East London and Port Elizabeth) and Northern Cape (Kimberley) provinces (21-24
August 2006)
SUMMARY
The Department of Social Development briefed the Committee on strategies
for the development of capacity and recruitment and retention of social service
professionals. In general, the Committee complained about there being too few
social workers and social auxiliary workers in South Africa. In addition, the
working conditions of these professionals required immediate intervention. The
recruitment, retention and remuneration of the various positions were discussed
as well as recent alternations.
MINUTES
Chairperson Tshivhase welcomed the Department of
Social Development to the meeting: Ms V Nhlapo
(Deputy Director-General: Integrated Development) and Mr
Eugene J van Vuuren (Chief Director: Human Capital
Management).
Mr van Vuuren commenced
with his presentation on the Development of Capacity and Recruitment and
Retention of Social Service Professionals.
He stated that the purpose of his briefing is to address the Portfolio
Committee on the following: development of capacity in the national and
provincial departments of Social Development; relationships between different
social development professionals; and the Recruitment and Retention Strategy
for Social Workers. He listed the
current issues at hand namely: the sector is not well organized; lack of norms
and standards for delivery of social services; the need for an Human Resources
(HR) Plan; high demand for Social Workers (SW) both within governmental
departments and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs); overlapping of roles and
responsibilities; exodus of social workers to other sectors and other
countries; fragmentation in training and utilization of other social service
professionals; impact of new legislation on the demand for services such as the
Children’s Act, Older Persons Act and substance abuse legislation. He revealed
the current statistics of employment.
With regard to the Recruitment and Retention Strategy for the Social Workers,
the aim is to determine the conditions that impact on social work and a scarce
skill, and to provide guidelines for the recruitment and retention of social
workers within the profession. The objectives of the strategy are to provide a
framework for the recruitment and retention of social workers as learners and
professionals, to reposition the social work profession to meet the challenges
of the 21st century, to promote a positive image of social work as a
career of choice, and to improve conditions of the service. Mr van Vuuren pointed out there is a high demand for skilled
social workers especially within the NGO sector. High workload and poor working
conditions led to burnout and poor quality of services to recipients.
Furthermore he noted that Universities have high intake levels but high drop
out levels occur during the final (fourth) year of studies. Universities train ± 500
social workers per year, of which KwaZulu-Natal
provides the least. It has been proved
through discussions with learners that the social work profession is not viewed
as a financially lucrative career and that it offers very little benefits and
few career path opportunities. In general, there is a lack of institutional
support and capacity for training programs, and poor working conditions, which
result in malpractice, unprofessional conduct and disciplinary procedures
against social workers.
The Recruitment and Retention Strategy entails material regarding employment,
publicity, job fairs and career guidance processes, predefined scholarships and
a database to monitor turnover, vacancy levels and migration patterns. Mr van Vuuren pointed out that
there should be a balance between strict criteria and meeting the public
demand. Furthermore, the curriculum should be aligned with the practical
demands in South Africa. Scholarships, training opportunities and special
skills workshops should be presented to broaden the scope of education to meet
current demands. Moreover, additional subsidies and financial support have to
be allocated and proper selection, training and staff development should be
employed to improve upon the current status of social workers.
Regarding compensation and remuneration, non-monetary strategies must be
implemented for improvement of working conditions, promotion as well as career
opportunities, and special training opportunities. Compensation and
remuneration also includes monetary strategies, remuneration and employee
benefits, incentive schemes linked to achievement of targets, retention
allowance (example scarce skills/rural allowances), bonuses, merit awards,
payment of study debts and bursary schemes. Due to a process of regrading, remuneration packages for social workers in the
government have been improved.
The job description of Social Auxiliary Workers (SAW) is in the process of
being finalized. The department is planning to provide 3000 positions for SAWs per year over three years. The entry level of Social
Workers will move up to level seven, whereas it used to be level six. The
department is developing a proposal on scarce skills allowances within the
framework of Public Service Scarce Skills Strategy.
The job description for Community Development Practitioners (CDPs) will be a generic job description up to
deputy-director level (Levels 5, 7-11). The remuneration packages for CDPs are being improved.
R2.8m has been allocated to 190 scholarships for social work learners. Outstanding fees of 36 students were paid
for. In the future, the department would
also like to make funds available for boarding, lodging and stipends.
The Service Delivery Model for developmental social services entails the
reconstruction of social development institutions and alteration of the
development paradigm. The department
emphasizes service integration by focusing on target groups namely, the poorest
of the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalized. Restructuring has to occur on
both national and provincial level to reposition the delivery of social
development services. They focus on building relationships between the
different professions: social workers, CDPs,
probation officers at provincial level, and child and youth care workers at
provincial level. They wish to establish a complementary relationship between
all professions in a coordinated and integrated manner. In other words, CDPs will assume a development role, whereas social workers
will play a welfare role. Thereby, the development and welfare roles will
contribute to developmental welfare. Social workers will focus on the condition
of individual and family relations, while CDPs will
concentrate on the ability of households to support themselves. Therefore, social workers are reactive and CDPs preventive.
Finally, Mr van Vuuren
proposed that the Committee should take note of developmental measures to
address the current challenges, which include: capacity building initiatives, the
recruitment and retention strategy for social workers, and the relationships
between social service professionals.
Ms V Nhlapo made the point that the department’s
focus is on integrating all programs according to the three target groups. An
integrated approach requires that all issues of a client must be
addressed. Furthermore she emphasized
that the recruitment and retention strategies are already underway and
implemented. She agreed that working conditions of social workers must be
improved. Finally she pointed out that
the critical milestones from 2007-2010 necessitated resources. Therefore, she pleaded to the Committee for
oversight and monitoring of the department and for budget assistance and
support in order to address issues at national and provincial level.
Discussion
Ms H Weber (DA) called for an explanation of the improvement of working
conditions of CDPs. Moreover, she wanted to know
whether workshops have been held for the SAWs. Lastly, she wondered whether advertisements
have been published for SAWs who might want to be
trained.
Ms I W Direko (ANC) referred to a dentists’ meeting
which she accidentally attended; in this meeting she became aware of the
possibility of SAWs taking over the position of
social workers despite their smaller salary.
Similarly, dental assistants seem to be taking over the position of
dental practitioners and are putting them out of business.
Mr K W Morwamoche (ANC)
stated that staff morale is low due to disregard of promotion procedures. In
addition he noted the poor working conditions of Social workers such as lack of
transport and equipment. Thus he asked what the department is doing to address
these conditions as well as the shortage of staff. He referred to the entry level of teachers
which does not start at level seven, but higher, and that this is undermining
social workers. He questioned the
training procedures in place and whether trainees are taken equally from each
province.
The Chairperson agreed that social workers are complaining about accommodation
and the condition of their offices.
Adv T M Masutha (ANC) enquired about the impact of
the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) on social workers. He requested timeframes for filling posts
which have not been provided. This will
have an impact on social delivery. He stated that social work is a scarce skill
and wondered if any strategies are in place for recruiting teachers in
townships, as well as strategies for vertical job mobility for SAWs. Furthermore,
he questioned the limit of level seven to eleven and wanted the reason for not
exceeding level eleven. Lastly, he
referred to the high drop out rate of fourth year students and requested an
explanation.
Mr M Waters (DA) asked why the department did not
choose the highest costing service model, and instead chose the lowest costing
service model. He wanted to know who made this decision. He felt the children deserve more. The Children’s Act is currently 4% funded and
NGOs have complained that social workers have left for government departments.
Finally, Mr Waters pointed out that there are already
too few social workers that qualify every year.
With an increase of Aids orphans, there is a need for mass education of
social workers.
Ms Nhlapo explained that SAWs
work as assistants to social workers. In other words, social workers do the
professional work and SAWs cannot become social
workers. Currently, social workers are
doing all the work and therefore function ineffectively. The responsibility lies on the social worker,
since SAWs are not registered with the board.
She remarked that the recruitment strategies in place also addressed the
improvement of working conditions which include accommodation, transport and
equipment. There is a rural fund
available to support social workers within the rural community. The entry level of level seven is according
to the job description and the amount of work.
She remarked upon Mr Waters’ question by stating that
the Children’s Act is already revealing gaps and problems at the lowest level,
due to the lack of social workers. Furthermore, equalization of services across
provinces is necessary to deal with discrepancies. Funding of NGO social
workers remain a problem. However, salaries of social workers have been
addressed in parliament.
Mr van Vuuren indicated
that part of the funds that have been made available has been requested for
development and structure building. SAWs have the
option of studying further and bursaries are made available for assistance in
order to graduate as social workers. The department is aware of problems
relating to transport, accommodation and equipment. This varies from province
to province, and requires focused intervention. Regarding workshops for SAWs, these have not been conducted to his knowledge. The
department received funds from the National Treasury to recruit more SAWs in 2007-2008. He did not agree that the existence of SAWs would “kill the profession”, but would assist social
workers effectively. The Cuban model proved that this working relationship would
be successful.
Regarding the filling of posts, Mr van Vuuren concurred that there is a propensity for departments
to employ staff from other departments. He stated that the recruitment policy
stipulates that consideration must be given to internal staff above all.
Additionally, 99% of all capacity building and the selection of social workers
for training have taken place in all provinces. With regard to salary levels,
the Department of Education had a different remuneration system than the rest
of government.
Ms Nhlapo made reference to the enquiry on the salary
levels. Each level indicates its function. Thus, levels seven to eleven
involves a range of functions. Level 12 signifies a senior managerial level.
Social workers are required at an operational level in the community and should
deliver services to the people.
Mr van Vuuren mentioned
that some level 12 positions are available, but only a few. In addition, he
stated that few secondments have been made by other
departments. At a national level, they did not receive many resignations. At
provincial level, however, the greatest problems occurred. He was positive and
indicated that 86 posts are in the process of being filled and 46 additional
positions are underway. They hope to fill the posts within the current
financial year. There are no unfunded vacancies or posts. He continued by
pointing out that the reason for the high drop-out rate of fourth year students
remains unanswered. Discussions are in progress and an in-depth study should be
conducted to get to the root of the problem.
Ms Nhlapo suggested that bursaries should be
available for third year students to support them to complete their studies and
to register on the board.
Mr van Vuuren affirmed that
the department is awaiting the allocation of funds from National Treasury since
they are not sure how many bursaries they can offer. The Department of
Education provides few subsidies. Universities have agreed to increase their
intake of social work students. Mass training of social workers would be
expensive, which would require extensive negotiations with National Treasury.
Ms Nhlape pointed out that unemployed teachers could
not become social workers, for their curricula differ greatly. Unemployed
teachers have to study in order to become social workers.
The Chairperson noted that social challenges are changing the face of South
Africa. She felt that the moral fiber of the country is disintegrating on a
daily basis due to the lack of professional social workers throughout South
Africa.
Ms M Gumede (ANC) wished to know the minimum level of
education required for a SAW. Secondly, she wanted to find out what they
considered “rural” and how this has been rated. Since there are communities
completely secluded from society, Ms Gumede asked about
the conceptualization of “rural” in conjunction with rural allowances.
Mr Morwamoche praised the
department for allocating R2.3 million for scholarships, however, he considered
it too little to address the current crisis in the shortage of social workers.
He pointed out that Deputy Directors at provincial level receive the same as
those at a national level. The former deals with about a hundred people
personally, whereas the latter simply does administrative work. Mr Morwamoche did not perceive it
fair that these two positions received the same salaries.
Mr Waters referred to the challenges of the
Children’s Act. He wanted to know why the Older Persons Bill has not been
included. In addition, he asked about the exact amount of social workers
currently necessary for all existing legislation.
Ms C I Ludwabe (ANC) also emphasized the lack of
transport in rural areas, not only for the social workers, but for clients as
well. She wished to know more about the rural budget.
Ms Nhlapo highlighted three aspects: the rural
allowance, salaries and SAWs. The rural allowance
exists to encourage social workers to work within rural communities. This
allowance is not intended to improve upon the working conditions of social
workers or to provide transport. Social workers should go to the respective
families, not vice versa. The working conditions must be addressed, but this is
not the purpose of the rural allowance.
Currently, there are two guiding principles in place regarding salaries. They
are two mandates each on national and provincial level respectively. Salaries
are based on job evaluation, which determines the job remuneration.
Lastly, the educational requirements for SAWs are
Grade 12 and two years of additional learnership.
Currently, they are readdressing substance abuse legislation and still have to
ascertain how many social workers are needed in total. The Children’s Act
already necessitates 8776 social workers and 7682 SAWs.
Ms Gumede enquired whether additional funds are made
available especially for SAWs. She wanted to know how
they could help those who do not have the two years of additional learnership, but really want to get involved.
Ms Nhlapo responded by saying that in-service
training is offered. Anyone can contact the Provincial Offices of Social
Development for further inquiries.
The Chairperson expressed her thanks to the department for the good
presentation and input.
Committee reports
In conclusion, both the draft report on the study tour by the Portfolio
Committee on Social Development to Australia, as well as the draft report on
the study tour by the Portfolio Committee on Social Development to the South
African Social Security Agency’s (SASSA) Head-Office, Pretoria (Gauteng); and the regional offices in the Eastern Cape
(East London and Port Elizabeth) and Northern Cape (Kimberley) provinces, were
recommended, seconded and adopted.
The meeting was adjourned.
Audio
No related
Documents
No related documents
Present
- We don't have attendance info for this committee meeting
Download as PDF
You can download this page as a PDF using your browser's print functionality. Click on the "Print" button below and select the "PDF" option under destinations/printers.
See detailed instructions for your browser here.