The effects of on-the-job training on service delivery at Emfuleni local municipality

Abstract

For the Emfuleni Local Municipality to successfully realize its fiduciary mandate of providing service. effectively and efficiently to the public, it is of paramount importance that the employee of the municipality have to possess the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding on the theoretical aspect of on-the -job training. The government has created an enabling environment through the enactment of legislation such as the Skills Development Act and the White paper on Public Service Training and Education to ensure that the municipality is able to realize this. mandate. The role of the training department of the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) becomes central in enabling the council to realize this critical objective of service delivery. The success or otherwise of the municipality to deliver quality services is' inextricably interlinked with the capacity of the employees in the training department to provide up to date on-the-job training to employees of the municipality. The objective of this study is therefore to study the effects of on-the-job training on service delivery at the Emfuleni Local Municipality. For the purpose of this study, the hypothesis was formulated that the current deficiencies in performance management and low levels of payment of rates can be linked to the ineffectiveness and in efficiency of the Emfuleni Local Municipality in prioritising the training of its employees. In order to test the validity or otherwise of the hypothesis, a comprehensive theoretical exposition of the literature on on-the-job training was undertaken. The empirical method of interviews and questionnaire was employed to gather qualitative and quantitative data. These methods assisted in arriving at some of the following findings: • Training as a strategy to improve effective and efficient service delivery is supported by the employees of the municipality and as such should enjoy a larger slice of the budget allocation from the ELM executive. • There are at times when the training offered is incompatible with the actual work situation. • The majority of the resident of Emfuleni, including the very employees of the municipality are not content with the quality of the services delivered by the ELM as reflected by their ratings of the performance of the ELM, hence the need to capacitate the training department. • The Employees Assistance Programme’s existence is in name only with the majority of employees not utilizing its services, an indication of lack of confidence in the office/officer's ability to help employees with their problems. • Members of the public still have confidence in the relevance of local government as a sphere that should be able to respond to their needs, since they are able to interact with officials at that level as a result of their close proximity. The study ends with recommendations for management action by the Mayoral Committee of the Emfuleni Local Municipality