A unique R72 million public-private partnership, designed to bring about minimum standards of competence for municipal financial staff, was unveiled in Johannesburg by Dr Blade Nzimande, the Minister of Higher Education and Training.

The latest research in the field of Human Recource Management shows that basic training expenditure fell with lower recruitment and selection activity - a latent effect of the global financial crisis- while management and leadership training remained strong.

The Human Resource Strategy for Health, which aims to develop health professionals and create a workforce fit to meet the country’s health needs was launched by Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi.

Citizens have been cautioned to verify that the enumerators entering their premises are infact accredited members of Census 2011 by checking that their identity cards contain a hologram. This is to protect the cards from being counterfeited.

Does your company expect and demand results from every training initiative? Learn how to ensure employees transfer learning principles to the work situation and deliver on performance expectation every time by following these tips.

Whether you're an entrepreneur, a mid-level manager, a team leader or a CEO in a newly formed organization or a mature organization, knowing the lifecycle of your organization and being able to influence the movement of that organization is critical to its growth and predictable success.

Econobee has compiled a list of the top five mistakes that businesses make when interpreting the ownership element on the BEE scorecard in order to save you the time, and money, of making them yourself.

Businesses will soon face a daunting task of managing staff expectations concerning year-end bonuses and annual increases after a difficult financial year has passed and an uncertain futre lies ahead, according to Manpower SA.

The BHP Billiton enterprise development project valued at R14 million aims to offer local entrepreneurs a comprehensive development programme and world class entrepreneurial coaching and guidance to 'grow successful, profitable and, most importantly, sustainable businesses.'

Do you enforce training or create an atmosphere of learning in the workplace? If you are battling to gain support from employees your approach to skills development may be the problem. Des Squire argues that 'for training to be effective there must be a perceived need in the minds of the recipients.'

For many people, the idea of combining decadent dining and becoming a feature writer is the ultimate dream job but while the idea might be appealing it’s also very hard work, and few people succeed in becoming fulltime writers.

Student funding scheme NSFAS has been allocated a total of R5.5 billion for the 2011/2012 period which will be used to provide financial assistance to students for both loans and bursaries. Minister Blade Nzimande also aims to create more awareness amongst scholars about this significant source of funding.

With the establishment of the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations will trainers have to redesign all the currently registered qualifications through an onerous, costly and time consuming process?

Or at least you think that it may be a good way for you to market your business? Well that’s great. Just like networking groups, people join Speakers Associations for many different reasons.

South Africa has participated in some fashion or another over the past 10 years in the World Skills Event, but with little success. Without the private providers in this country, we will never aspire to achieving greatness on the world platform.

In the 'Guidelines on Strategy and Priorities for the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) 2011/12' released by the Minister of Higher Education in September Dr Nzimande stressed the following: Of great importance and a priority for immediate action is the need for all Quality Councils to set out how they intend managing their standard setting and quality assurance processes in terms of - STANDARDS SETTING – QUALITY ASSURANCE – PROGRESSION AND INFORMATION.

498 graduates have been recognized for their 12-month artisan training at the National Youth Service skills development programme which provides opportunties for unemployed youth to contribute to their communities, while improving their skills, education and employment propects.

New managers or individuals earmarked for future leadership positions are ideally suited to join the Emerging Leaders Programme which aims to equip novices with the tools to succesfully manage their environment through leadership awareness experiences and experiential learning opportunities.

Will the pattern of strikes never end? South Africa seems to be locked in an endless cycle of industrial action followed by the lengthy and often unproductive process of collective bargaining, Bruno Bruniquel speaks about the role of management in ending this vicious cycle.

A common mistake made by aspiring leaders is to focus their energies on mixing with the bigwigs but being an inspiring leader means you better be spending most of your time and energy focused on what's below, not on what's above.

A provision of R77.8 million has been created to refund former students who were overcharged interest during previous years. The student financial aid scheme NSFAS, has committed to contacting each student to arrange the transaction says Minister Nzimande.

South African citizens have been urged to provide accurate, truthful and honest information to Stats SA officials during the 2011 Census count as the event would only yield meaningful results 'if everyone gives honest information' said Eastern Cape Premier Noxolo Kiviet.

Speed repping is the new sales method trend. Adapted from the concept of speed dating, the Retail Technology Forum held in Cape Town at the beginning of September attributes the success of the event to the well organised “speed repping” schedule set up by the Forum’s organisers.

The Labour Department received high praise from Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant after the latest audit reports were released. She commended the team for their hard work and commitment to spending 'the money entrusted to us by the people of South Africa in a prudent and responsible manner'.

People with disabilites are amongst the least likely to be employed particularly in the current volatile economic period, but this often neglected faction of society received hope and support at the recent Pan African Health (PAH) Expo.

As we approach the end of the year, companies are starting to make plans for their year-end functions; a work event, disguised as a social one. The challenge is knowing how to behave in order to make the most of the night whilst ensuring you don’t leave an infamous reputation behind.