Welcome!

A number of organisations in the environmental sector are working on national strategies to develop greater human capital. These include SANBI (the South African National Biodiversity Institute), the Lewis Foundation, the Department of Environmental Affairs, the Department of Science and Technology, and WWF. This website aims to promote and connect these initiatives. Perhaps you have a related project, proposal or concern? Submit your contribution through Have Your Say.

While the domain name reflects a focus on skills for organisations involved in biodiversity conservation and research, the site features information and opportunities that are also relevant to the broader environmental sector.

Recent Developments

Completion of Strategy Document

The document outlining the national Human Capital Development Strategy and Implementation Plan for the biodiversity sector has now been completed. Please use it to consider how you may want to contribute to the national effort, or to inform your organisation's own capacity development and equity plans. This is a working document and users should continue to feel free to comment on the Strategy. Future inputs will be filed for consideration during the first review.

Strategy Implementation and Appointment of Director

In August implementation starts in the form of the National Biodiversity Human Capital Development Programme. To this end the Lewis Foundation has appointed a programme director, who will be housed in SANBI. Ms Renee le Roux has been honing her skills over the past 12 years in the National Research Foundation, where she has managed and directed research funding programmes such as the Conservation and Management of Ecosystems and Biodiversity Focus Area, the Education Research Programme and the South African Biosystematics Initiative. Please join us in welcoming Renee and congratulating her on what we hope will be a most productive and fulfilling position!

Dr Eureta Rosenberg will remain with the team as Strategic Advisor, and the Biodiversity HCD Programme Management Committee consists of Lindy Rodwell (Lewis Foundation), Carmel McNaught (SANBI) and Vivian Malema (SANBI). Don't worry about the preponderance of females, there are some men on the Advisory Committee and we love them! The Advisory Committee will expand with time, and we also remain on the look-out for a fundraiser and a communications partner.

There will be more action for our Working Groups over the next months, as we will call on them to help us refine the first projects for implementation. Among the details to deliberate will be suitable partner organisations and project executants from within these organisations.

Strategic Inputs into National Skills Planning System

An immediate priority is to continue engaging with the Department of Higher Education and Training's national skills planning initiatives. The environmental sector's submission has been very favourably received by the DHET and the National Skills Authority. These authorities have acknowledged the importance of the environmental driver for skills planning across all sectors, and have asked the Department of Environmental Affairs to draw on the National Environmental Skills Planning Forum and other experts to review all SETA's Sector Skills Plans during August, to ensure that environmental skills needs are adequately reflected. In addition the DEA has been invited to submit a proposal for a catalytic grant to address environmental skills needs for which the SETA system may not be suitable.

Related Initiatives

WWF South Africa appointed a convenor to ensure human capital development for natural resource management. For more information on this process, contact Dr Glenda Raven.

The Department of Environmental Affairs has formed a partnership with Rhodes University to develop an Environmental Sector Skills Plan and Skills Planning Guidelines for all organisations, as well as a Human Capital Development Strategy for the Environment, that will specifically inform the Department's role. The Second Draft of the Environmental Sector Skills Plan for South Africa: Summary Document, is now available.

The Department of Science and Technology's Global Change Grand Challenge initiative also includes a Human Capital Development Strategy. For more information, contact Kogilam Iyer.

Research

To inform these HCD Strategies, research has been conducted on the supply side of the sector (schools, higher education in universities, and further and vocational training), as well as the current situation, trends, vacancies, retention, career paths and other human resource and workplace skills planning aspects on the demand side. This site shares the latest Research Findings, and invites you to Have Your Say or submit your own Think Piece .

Stakeholder Engagements

In the course of 2009 a number of stakeholder workshops have been held. At the annual Biodiversity Information Management Forum meeting, participants discussed the reasons for the scarce skills in this specialised set of occupations. [Read More Here] The 2009 National Wetlands Indaba yielded valuable insights into where the vacancies are, and why. Graduate students reported that they could not find employment with an Honours Degree, and thus returned to university to study further. Some warned however that this move could see them become overqualified, as agencies lack budgets for more senior appointments. What is the situation in your organisation? Send us you comments through Have Your Say).