Seifsa Training

14th January 2019

Seifsa Training

The Key To Re-Positioning The Metals And Engineering Sector For The Future

To promote sustainable metals and engineering industries to ensure that they are strategically positioned for innovation and growth in the interests of a prospering Southern Africa. This is the Vision of the Steel and Engineering Industry Federation of Southern Africa – SEIFSA. The mandate is broad and challenges are not for the faint of heart. Ending the reduction of the industry’s contribution to GDP is our most pressing concern, and has been since the global recession of 2008/9. Stability within the sector remains one of the key pillars to steady the ship.

When these issues are taken into consideration, the key takeaway must be: increasing the knowledge and skills of the sector. SEIFSA, through its four Divisions, is uniquely positioned to make this contribution. With experts positioned in Human Capital and Skills Development (HC&SD), Industrial Relations and Legal Services (IR&LS), Economics and Commercial (EC), and Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ), each Division has a year-round programme of Training to offer to the sector, its members, and the wider business community.

According to SEIFSA Chief Executive Officer Kaizer Nyatsumba: “Training is a critical part of our mission to help members, to develop their human capital to realise their full potential”.

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND LEGAL SERVICES

The IR&LS Division has a central role to play with its training suite – as illustrated in the article “Strike Violence: What’s my plan?” Managers at all levels need to be acutely aware what case law says, and of the relevant regulations. SEIFSA, therefore, provides an ideal support system for its members and other companies wishing to increase their knowledge in this Industrial Relations space.

Courses on offer are:

The Legal Services part of the Division has two admitted attorneys who, in addition to chairing disciplinary hearings and writing policies for companies, also represent companies at the CCMA, the Labour Court and the Labour Appeal Court.

ECONOMICS AND COMMERCIAL

The EC Division publishes the unique Price and Index Pages (SEIFSA PIPS). The publication helps businesses in due-diligence exercises and to mitigate input costs, thereby improving margins. PIPS tracks over 200 independent market or product-specific indices that are valuable in drafting contracts with significant lead periods. A useful “Fun Facts Guide” is published on the website: www.pips.seifsa.co.za.

Coupled to PIPS are the SEIFSA Contract Price Adjustment (CPA) Training Workshops.  CPA is a methodology used to adjust defined areas of costs over a defined period of time to cover cost fluctuations beyond the control of the parties to a contract. The model helps buyers and suppliers to reach an agreement on the adjustment of prices in a contract over a specified period.

SEIFSA makes a very important contribution in ensuring that volatile cost components are accounted for. The increasing number of trainees attending the CPA Workshops testifies to the importance that more companies place on the potential risks that inflation poses to the bottom line.

Headed by Chief Economist Dr Michael Ade, who is assisted by Economist Marique Kruger (M.Com), the EC Division offers the following unique course, which earns those in attendance a Continuous Professional Development point:

HUMAN CAPITAL AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

Within the manufacturing sector, there is a myriad of challenges associated with the development of relevant skills. A legacy of poor educational opportunities, a complex tertiary education and training landscape and a poor basic education system have resulted in many employees having little or low levels of skills. South Africa’s national shortage of skills in all economic sectors exacerbates the challenges associated with the retention of staff and increases the demands for training and development within the metals and engineering.

To counter skills shortages, SEIFSA members companies are encouraged to invest in employee training and development in various interventions that include learnerships, bursaries, apprenticeships, internships and adult education.

The legislative framework guiding these interventions is vast, and the repercussions for non-compliance are punitive, as illustrated by the article “May the Force be with you – The serious consequences of the employment Equity Act”.

SEIFSA’s Training Interventions include:

SAFETY, HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT, AND QUALITY (SHEQ)

SEIFSA’s SHEQ Division assists companies in meeting the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, and other health, safety, environment and quality legislation. The Division, guides companies in addressing SHEQ issues at the workplace, thereby protecting management from vicarious liability and criminal prosecution.

The SHEQ Division offers the following courses:

CONCLUSION

One theme that sticks out is legislation and compliance. The complexity of compliance in the manufacturing industry is very onerous. SEIFSA, as the most respected advocate for the metals and engineering industries, skillfully steers its member companies in the right direction and effectively plays a part in relieving their burden.

Training and consulting constitute the first form of intervention. In addition thereto, SEIFSA, through its advocacy and lobbying activities, presents these challenges to external bodies such as Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) and the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC).

Watch the video on this page for further insights into SEIFSA Training.