South Africa’s National School of Government is calling for mentors
The National School of Government (NSG) has asked public servants to enlist as trainers and mentors to offer education, training and development interventions in their areas of expertise.
The NSG said that its mandate has been expanded to provide education, training and development in the three spheres of government, the state-owned entities and other organs of state.
To meet the demands of this expanded mandate, and recognizing the expertise that resides among experienced officials across the public sector, the NSG seeks to draw and deploy this experience as part of measures designed to build an ethical and capable state, it said,
To this end, Public Service and Administration minister Senzo Mchunu, has written to departments requesting them to release qualifying officials to undertake these tasks.
“Public servants in the three spheres of government will greatly benefit from training that is delivered by knowledgeable, experienced and ethical serving public servants,” said Mchunu.
The NSG has requested interested serving officials to indicate their willingness to assist with training and mentorship services in their areas of expertise through face-to-face and virtual sessions, online seminars, training workshops and thought leadership platforms as well as through the mentoring and coaching of other public servants.
Interested officials will be rigorously screened and assessed to ensure that they have the requisite subject matter expertise and relevant public sector experience, the NSG said.
The NSG will offer “the art of facilitation” training opportunities to the selected officials before they can be allocated as trainers or mentors.
The NSG said that the following factors will guide the release of officials as trainers once their preparation is completed:
- The official will conduct training on behalf of the NSG for up to eight days per financial year, with preparation for such sessions requiring up to an additional eight days per financial year;
- The official will not receive additional remuneration beyond their current conditions of service;
- The NSG will schedule the training in collaboration with the official to limit the impact of the official’s absence on the delivery of their core responsibilities and will confirm the duration and location of sessions in writing, with expressed consent from their supervisors;
- The NSG will reimburse the releasing department or organisation for the official’s travel, accommodation and subsistence costs in line with its guiding policies and procedures.
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