Question NW856 to the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure

Reply:

The Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure:

1. Since the presentation by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) on the establishment of the Public Works Academy to the Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure on the 21st August 2019, there was another session within the Department wherein officials made a presentation to the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure. After the officials had made a presentation to the Minister about the Academy, and having taken into consideration the financial implications to establish such an Academy, and also in light of the cost-cutting measures that are being applied in the DPWI and in the Public Service as a whole, it was found as prudent to discontinue with the plan. However, the Skills Development (Technical Capacity Building) Programme, which the DPWI is busy with, will not be negatively impacted upon as there will be more focus and dedicated energy towards its roll-out. The DPWI has a dedicated Professional Services Branch to drive this work.

(a) and (b) (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) Fall away.

2. The State Technical Capacity Building Programme will partner with other Public Sector Academies, including the National School of Government and Higher Education Institutions for immediate access to Learning Programmes (contact and online) to enhance the Programme outcomes. Below link, please find a diagram depicting other partnerships to be entered into.

http://pmg-assets.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/RNW856State.pdf

Acronyms:

 

ECSA: Engineering Council of South Africa

SACAP: South African Council of Architectural Profession

SACLAP: South African Council of Landscape Architectural Profession

SACPCMP: South African Council for Project Construction Management Profession

SACQSP: South African Council of the Quantity Surveying Profession

SACPVP: South African Council for the Property Valuation Profession

SACPLAN: South African Council for Planners

SAGC: South African Geotechnical Council

IREM: Institute for Real Estate Management

SAFMA: South African Facilities Management Association

QCTO: Quality Council for Trade Occupations

NSG: National School of Government

FSTDI: Free State Training and Development Institute

MSTA: Maths, Science, and Technology Academy

SAPOA: South African Property Owners Association

GBSA: Green Building South Africa

VAs: Voluntary Associations

TVETs: Technical Vocational Education and Training (Colleges)

3. Capacitation of the Property Management Trading Entity (PMTE) is of paramount importance to the Capacity Building Programme, and will implement its Asset Management programmes, guided by ISO standards on Asset Management. These standards clearly articulate the role of employees in the Asset Management value chain and the competencies they need to possess. To further bolster the State’s capacity in Infrastructure Delivery (supported by the Young Professionals and Candidacy Programmes aligned to the Built Environment Professional Councils, Maintenance (Facilities Management supported by Artisans and Apprentices) and Management (Asset Management ISO Standards), the aim of the Programme will be to address lack of competencies throughout the value chain of Infrastructure. Below is a summary of targeted employees and Asset Management training intervention areas.

Training Group	Training Areas of focus
Executive Senior Management	Legislative Drivers, Meaning of Asset Management (AM) planning, expectation outcomes from AM planning, Organisation’s AM strength and weaknesses, How does the organisation compare nationally & Internationally
Asset Managers, Asset Planners, Capital Works Delivery	Legislative Drivers, Key AM concepts, Asset management activities throughout the asset lifecycle: Level of service/ performance management, Demand forecasting and management, Operations and maintenance planning, Land rehabilitation planning Note: Organisation’s AM practices and how they compare with other, case studies of good practice AM, Workshop/discussion – how could we be doing AM better
Upskilling Group (those that have already attended a lot of formal AM training)	Refresher on AM concepts and practices, Examples of good practice, organisation’s AM strengths and weaknesses, Comparison of national and international organisations Note: Workshop/discussion – critical AM issues in the organisation and how do we address these
Operations team (Technical & Non- Technical )	Legislative Drivers, Key AM concepts, Asset management activities throughout the asset lifecycle, How operations fits in with the overall AM picture, Examples/case studies of good practice AM, Note Workshop/discussion – how could we be doing operational AM better
Customer Services (e.g. Call Centre, Service Desks)	Legislative Drivers, Key AM concepts, Asset management activities throughout the asset lifecycle, how the customer/call centre role fits with the overall AM picture
Information Systems/Data Entry Staff	Legislative Drivers, Key AM concepts, What data and functionality is required to support good AM