Personnel Services School an important component of SANDF human resource utilisation

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“Human resource officials” in the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) are part and parcel of a labour intensive organisation, according to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, and are responsible for at least some “unique” work.

This, according to SA Soldier reporter Staff Sergeant Itumeleng Makubela, is “because management of uniformed members requires a robust and specific human resource practice that handles complexities related to the nature of the tasks”.

Training to do this properly happens at Personnel Services School (PSS) in Thaba Tshwane.

“Functional courses we present include the senior personnel officer (SPO) course which prepares captains to become majors over 19 weeks. We have the junior personnel officer (JPO) course designed for lieutenants to become captains, which is 32 weeks long. Students in these programmes do functional as well as computer modules,” Lieutenant Colonel Andre August, training wing commander, told the official SANDF publication.

PSC also presents the chief personnel clerk (CPC) course to prepare staff sergeants to become chief personnel clerks at unit level and warrant Officers at level 3. The senior personnel clerk (SPC) course provides trains corporals to become sergeants. The entry level course is personnel clerk course normally for Military Skills Development (MSD) system members and members who re-muster to the Personnel Service Corps.

Modules taught at the Thaba Tshwane military education facility range from communication techniques through to government regulatory structures; human resource strategic planning; organisation, policy and human resource development as well as human resource management and support during operations, with an emphasis on appreciation, decision briefing and personnel instructions.

The PSS is accredited with the SA Board for People Practices (SABPP) and all student portfolios go to it for external moderation. Accreditation levels vary from three to five, presumably according to SAQA (SA Qualifications Authority) standards.