Fasset Management Consultant Learnership Project Results of Gap

Fasset Management Consultant Learnership Project Results of Gap Analysis 29 October 2002

Project Approach v Field research - Interviews conducted with a number of organisations, including: v v v Large consulting firms Medium consulting firms Small consulting firms Clients of consulting firms Professional bodies within the sector Training providers v Desktop research – Extensive literature review was conducted included: v Training and development best practices v Management consulting competency models

Approach for identifying skills requirements Client – consultant relationship framework Link to unit standards Consulting skills framework Learnership Design Consulting Competencies

Usm 02 Promote management consultancy services Usm 04 Conduct consulting market analyses and establish company brand Usm 05 Conduct analysis for proposal development Usm 06 Produce consulting proposals Usm 07 Build relationships and maintain key accounts Usm 03 Monitor and manage recovery and utilisation Usm 10 Develop management consulting methodologies Usm 11 Manage and develop people in a professional services practice Usm 08 Analyse and design business processes Usm 09 Facilitate change management processes Usm 01 Manage change in a project

Management Consulting competence The competencies typically required of a management consultant can be grouped into four broad categories.

Training and development Any skills development initiatives within the management consulting sector should incorporate: • A competency based approach, which allows for a suitable degree of on the job assessment, should be adopted; and • Appropriate training delivery media need to be selected to facilitate learning in the areas of knowledge, skills and attitude, thereby contributing to the overall achievement of the desired outcomes and standards.

Summary of findings v No significant gaps between SA practices and best practices v Notable differences between large, medium and small firms v Human Resource Development is a strategic focus within all firms v Skills retention is not as large a problem as expected v In large firms there are highly structured career paths and learning pathways whilst this tends not to be the case in the smaller firms v Training vehicles sufficient - range from very good to very poor v Only international firms make use of international training resources

Summary of findings cont. v Four to five days training is offered at all levels person per year v There are no formal methods of assessment or for deeming competence v Wide range of views around the skills requirements of management consultants – most agree technical skills are satisfactory v Prediminantly the large firms will be recruiting within the next twelve months v Do not experience great difficulty in finding appropriately skilled personnel v Only when a firm is specifically looking for PDI recruits is there is an extreme shortage. v Most firms predict that training costs will escalate

Opportunities and Challenges v Accessibility v Different fields of consulting v Structured workplace components to ensure specific experiences and competence are gained; v Recognition of prior learning through workplace assessment; v Flexibility in the choice of delivery mechanisms; v Flexibility in the choice of standards in the culmination of a nationally recognised qualification; v Financial incentives through FASSET and SARS; v Opportunities to retain talent including PDIs through structured skills interventions; and v Opportunities to take on new entrants in a learnership agreement with no obligation to employ the person at the completion of the learnership.

Thank you! Gap Analysis Report to follow….