If you think being a personal assistant means taking calls and messages think again. The 21st century secretary is expected to manage budgets, provide superb frontline customer service while organising schedules and networking with clientele. But are they trained to deliver?

Despite the good intentions of the transformation laws, women who make up more than 50 percent of the South African population are still not properly represented in the mining sector. Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu has called for speedy transformation of the industry.

Crucial conversations could be holding you back from enjoying healthier relationships and a more productive workforce. Make crucial conversations a part of your best practice and everything will fall into place according to Helene Vermaak.

The status of the education, health and wellbeing of the young people in South Africa was recently brought to light when the NYDA published a document which addresses these and other pertinent youth issues.

While alcohol abuse differs from alcohol dependency both of these negative habits contribute to poor workplace performance. Bradley Pandy talks about the difference between alcoholism and binge drinking and how to identify and address this behaviour in the workplace.

The plans to build a university in the Mpumalanga province has been a long time coming, but the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Blade Nzimande has finally taken some decisive steps towards making tertiary education accessible to local learners.

MerSeta will run workshops dealing with the submission of mandatory and pivotal grants and the proposed changes within the regulations. Skills development faciliators have been urged to attend the workshops.

Employment trends show that EE placements at the executive level have remained fairly steady for the past four years, this despite increased pressures from government structures to transform the make up of executive teams. Debbie Goodman-Bhyat, Managing Director of Jack Hammer Executive Headhunters comments on the current situation.

Matrics who don't have the opportunity to study further should thoughtfully review the many alternatives, when planning for the future. Anna Malczyk highlights four options available to schools leavers that could be the entryway to a prosperous career.

The call for virtual universities has been answered by the latest technological tool called the Telefunken Tablet PC. The device is able to store pre-loaded learning material, a function that will forever change the landscape of tertiary education in South Africa.

Assessment Centre technology satisfies the increasing need for business leaders inside and outside the HR profession to make more strategic decisions. The talent management conference hosted by Assessment Centre Study Group is ideal for seasoned professionals in people-centred organisational roles.

Trade Union Solidarity recently pointed out the need for our youth to consider attending FET colleges. Further Education and Training Colleges or FET colleges are different to universities in that they offer many of the essential courses to ensure the achievement of the skills and training needed that are essential to the South African Economy.

Occupation(ally) directed education and training will be familiar to many training practitioners, and organisational development will be familiar to many human resource practitioners. The SAODN network sessions provide a usefull way of keeping up to date with developments in the organisational development field.

Ethics, honesty, morals and values are sadly lacking in society. There are many reasons for this not least of which is the fact that we do not educate our children and in many instances our employees on issues related to ethics and honesty.

At a recent media briefing National Youth Development Agency's Andile Lungisa caused a stir by suggesting that teachers and the teaching profession should be declared an "essential service". Well we all know that teachers are essential, so why is he making this suggestion, and what would be the effect of such a declaration?

The new speakers series which includes some of the world’s top thinkers is being launched at the UCT Graduate School of Business.The aim is to stimulate new thought on how to use business and the power of business for social good.

Watch the full keynote speech of the honourable Thabo Mbeki, former president of the Republic of South Africa, delivered at the opening of the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) International Knowledge Management Conference on 16 January 2012.

Despite the challenges facing education in the country, the Department of Basic Education has managed to scoop Public Sector Excellence Awards across the three spheres of government, government agencies, parastatals and NGOs.

Fasset will continue to fund new and tested development projects through its funding pot which has received a significant increase and now stands at an estimated R409.4 million as a result of the increase in skills levies.

A lot of emphasis has been placed on the education system and skills development, which has incidentally become one of the country's top priorities, but is education really the answer? Liza van Wyk talks about the role of education in society.

Investing in a foreign country is an ideal way to diversify and tap new markets but only if it is done the right way. Dr. Khater Massaad talks about the opportunities and pitfalls of business expansions.