Abstract:
The democratic dispensation in South Africa compelled government to implement
skills development legislation to intensify employees’ capacity development. The
evolution of democratic values triggered both the public and private sectors to
invest in their existing and prospective employees. The public service departments
and private companies have been obliged to conduct skills needs analyses, develop
workplace skills plans, and implement training and development programmes as
prescribed by various pieces of legislation. Employee training and development
allow organisations to maximize the achievement of management objectives of
the department, resolve organisational problems, and align employees’ culture
and personal thinking to the values, culture, mission and vision of the department.
This article considers training and development programmes as essential variables
for improving employees’ performance and explores whether there is a strong
relationship between training and development and performance improvement in
the public service.
