Human resources capacity-building in local government - A case study of the Training and Development Scheme in Durban

The Training and Development Scheme (TDS) is an affirmative action-based program located in the Greater Durban Area of Kwazulu-Natal. The program was conceived in 1992 to address the racial and gender disparities in the Durban Metropolitan Area. At the time the Scheme was introduced, the transition from an apartheid city council to a non-racial council had yet to take place, and the uneven racial and gender employment patterns were all too evident. The TDS would be one of the mechanisms to address the under-representation of Black (Indian, Colored, and African) employees in the management cadre of local and provincial government. The Training and Development Scheme has since evolved from a small affirmative action pilot project into a comprehensive human resource development program with additional objectives and partnerships. It is envisaged that at the end of the 1997-98 program, approximately 145 participants would have graduated from the Scheme. The participants would have been provided with education and training that complies with the requirements of the National Qualifications framework and is dynamically linked to the broader institutional transformational issues of local and provincial government management. The Training and Development Scheme has since been upgraded and since 1998, has been offered as a Post-Graduate Diploma in Public Administration (Development Management) by the School of Public Policy and Development Management of the University of Durban-Westville.