Staff Development

AISA remains compliant in its reporting through the Work Skills Plan to the Education, Training and Development Practices – Sector Education and Training Authority (ETDP SETA). A number of bursaries were awarded to staff, from top management right through to lower levels. Provision was also made available for three employees who were accepted to complete their PhDs. Several initiatives were put in place to enhance performance, including training, which largely focused on the Finance Division to improve financial reporting and supply chain management. The soft skills audit performed by the internal auditor and the Institutional and benchmarking reviews highlighted the need to pay attention to the day-to-day management of staff, including giving performance feedback, dealing with conflict promptly, and ensuring effective change management. Immediate supervisors are credited with the efforts made, more particularly in the Research Division, but continuous improvement across all divisions is necessary. There is a need for senior management to exhibit stronger skills in the ‘people’ aspects of management and more importantly, to close the gap between what they say as managers and what they actually do. This gap is perceived by staff as being a major issue.