22 Aug 2016

The Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) has realised the low uptake of Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF) .

The HRDF is a training fund established for skills development in the country and it is operated through a levy grant system where companies pay a levy into the Fund and are reimbursed costs that they incurred for training their employees. Speaking at the levy payers workshop, HRDC CEO, Dr Raphael Dingalo said failure to utilise the HRDF by workplaces hindered the objective of skills development in the country.

Dr Dingalo emphasised the importance of workplace training and that the fund was established to facilitate the industry participation in the development of human capital in Botswana.

“The overall objective of this Fund is therefore the generation of funds to support skills training by employers in order to increase skills base at the workplace and employers access the funding by way of reimbursement of training costs,” Dr Dingalo said as globalisation and technology gathered pace and the world becomes more connected, competition would continue to increase. He therefore noted that government found it necessary to move towards a knowledge based economy, while survival of business is then dependent on being competitive and at the forefront of innovation.

However, the CEO noted that as a way to effectively improve skills acquisitions, there were reforms envisaged that would result in a holistic approach to skills development, which would be done through the formation of sector committees.

The responsibilities of sectors are to consult with industry to identify training needs and come up with industry relevant training programmes that will be funded.

For her part, HRDC workplace manager, Ms Doreen Kokorwe underlined the importance of workplace learning, noting that it ensured that relevant skills were developed aligned to the world of work and also immediate acquisition of on-the-job skills aligned to operations.

She also said workplace learning ensured developed positive work ethics within the workforce and high productivity as well as staff retention.

Ms Kokorwe further said workplace learning stimulate and promote continuous learning in the workplaces by guiding employers in developing appropriate training plans aligned to national priority skills and enhance productivity. Ends