With less than 24 hours left before the world sees an end to another climate change conference, COP17 negotiators in Durban are working around the clock to salvage talks with the African group, vowing to ensure some kind of deal is achieved.

Growth in real expenditure by households decelerated to 3.3% in the second quarter but increased again to 3.7% in the third quarter as a result of sharp spending on durable goods and services.

The real economic environment has remained positive, but business confidence took a knock in November due to the depreciation of the rand and inflation, said the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Many companies are still finding it difficult to get a handle on what Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) is meant to achieve. The complexities of the seven Codes and the variations in how points are scored within the different sectors can be baffling and require interpretation from accredited verification experts.

Human resource management (HRM) has been a misunderstood and underutilised business resource for many years, but modern organisations are waking up to the potential and competitive advantage that a strong HR team can offer.

South Africa has been lauded for its commitment to transformation and recognised as a leader in sustainable solutions as a result of its comprehensive legislation drawn up to deal with climate change.

A staggering 60% of South Africa's youth has never been employed. This disconcerting statistic emphasises the need to educate and equip young people particularly in the engineering sector in order to boost job creation, said Minister Trevor Manuel at the 4th International Conference on Engineering and Business Education.

Funds should be used to create jobs for people with disabilities instead of distributing money through government grants according to Sekgalo Lethloo chairperson of the Disabled People of South Africa. People with disabilities want to be recognised for their skills.

Imagine the scene: it's year end, companies are chasing year end or quarter targets, members of management are stressed and employees working overtime, and everyone is looking forward to the holiday. An employee confesses to a misdemenour. Management response is: open and shut case, dismissal decided, and advice to payroll to process a termination. Ivan Israelstam explains why this response should be avoided.

As part of the plan towards improving the lives of people with disabilities the Department of Higher Education and Training has established a bursary fund to the value of R77-million for students at university level who have disabilities.

New research reveals the most difficult issue for women in the workplace to discuss and successfully resolve is negotiating limits on their workload, it’s also one of the main issues that cause 1 in 5 women to leave their job.

Where do private ETD providers fit into the QCTO? In order to answer this question we need to dissect the QCTO system.

The Setas are pushing providers to offer full qualifications, or at least registered skills programmes as opposed to stand-alone Unit Standards. To offer full qualifications, we have to be registered with a Council for Quality Assurance - ours being UMALUSI.

I would like to get thoughts from everyone, on how they feel about Adult Education. Is there any value to it? What value does the education departments place on it, and in that instance, the value that Seta's place on it as well?

Many members find great difficulty with all the terms used on the site. The following simple description gives you a start to distinguishing between Leanerships, Internships, and In-service training.

The most urgent task facing the country’s Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas) at the moment is the finalisation of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) for the 2012/2013 financial year so they may effectively address the critical developmental challenges facing South Africa.

Counselling can alleviate stress or pain caused by difficult situations and people when it is done right, but too many think counselling is about making the appropriate noises at the appropriate times. Nicolene Rose-Innes talks about the real role of a counsellor.

Poverty continues to soar and it is clear that simply giving people 'stuff' does not work. Warren Te Brugge, the founder of My Arms Wide Open, explains why this albeit well-meaning approach to aid is clearly wrong. He explains that there is a better way to create opportunities, develop businesses, sustain growth and rebuild communities.

More access to female condoms, protection of commercial sex workers and access to HIV information for rural women were some of the requests given to Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe as the country marks World Aids Day.

During a side event at the COP17 climate change conference South African high school learners presented a youth protocol to Minster Lulu Xingwana, concluding a year-long programme which culminated on the opening day of COP17 at a simulated youth climate negotiation.

Domestic workers are in store for an early Chistmas present this year as the wage increase implemented by Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant takes effect as of the 1 December. Employers have been urged to 'be fair" to staff by adhering to the new legislation.

Social media may offer new channels for communicating with stakeholders but online social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Myspace can also act as a platform for negative publicity. Do you, as the employer have any control over what is said about your business?