Training and skills development has become a priority in South Africa as the brain drain continues. To address this problem, the Department of Labour established 25 Sector Education Training Authorities (SETAs) representing major industries in South Africa such as banking, insurance, finance and construction. The SETAs` role is to uplift training in the country and ensure that companies implement training programs which are monitored and accredited. The SETAs` income is derived from a training levy based on employee remuneration of the relevant employers in each SETA. This levy is refundable to the employers by way of grants, the amounts of which are dependent on how well the employers meet the various training requirements set. The SETAs are independent and are each responsible for managing and funding their financial, administrative and IT operations.
BANKSETA was established in March 2000 under the management of CEO Frank Groenewald specifically for the banking industry. With the focus on skills development and training accreditation in the banking sector, Groenewald took a decision to outsource the "non core" SETA functions which included financial, administration, call centre and IT operations. BANKSETA issued a Request For Proposal (RFP) and five specialist service providers were identified as possible providers for the outsourced services.
Having completed a comprehensive situation analysis, Groenewald employed the services of outsource management consultants, Outsource Decisions and Management Services (OD&MS), to assist with the outsourcing process.
Using their SourceIT methodology, OD&MS worked with BANKSETA to examine and evaluate the RFP submissions and a preferred provider was selected. OD&MS drew up the initial contract termsheets which included a comprehensive set of Service Definitions and Service Level Agreements. These detailed the performance requirements of the service provider and provided BANKSETA with a clear business matrix against which to measure the service provider`s performance on a regular basis.
The total process took four months, and OD&MS continues to be involved in the implementation and management of the outsourcing agreement.
"The decision to outsource not only allows BANKSETA to focus on our core activities but has also enabled us to repay up to 86% of the levies received to the companies that have met their training requirements," says Groenewald.
"This puts us ahead of many of the other SETA bodies and without the services of OD&MS, we would have found it very difficult to move ahead as quickly as we did. Their knowledge of outsourcing is exceptional and their professionalism and quality of negotiation and project management cannot be matched," concludes Groenewald.
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