Office Administrator Public Service Administrator

The purpose of this qualification is to prepare and equip Public Administrators with key skills and knowledge needed to effectively operate in the public sector. It is designed to prepare these learners on how to manage, organise, and analyse the effects of government policies, and to use business and statistical tools to solve public sector challenges in an ethical manner. Learners will develop skills in budgeting and conducting research. The Occupational Certificate is aimed at enhancing the various key functional elements of the work of a Public Service Administrator, namely: • Planning - working out in broad outline the things that need to be done and the methods for doing them to accomplish the purpose set for the enterprise. • Organising - the establishment of the formal structure of authority through which work subdivisions are arranged, defined, and coordinated for the defined objective. • Staffing - the whole personnel function of bringing in and training the staff and maintaining favourable conditions of work. • Directing - the continuous task of making decisions and embodying them in specific and general orders and instructions and serving as the leader of the organisation. • Coordinating - the all important duty of interrelating the various parts of the work; OR the common thread that runs through all the activities of the organisation. • Reporting - keeping those to whom the executive is responsible informed as to what is going on, which thus includes keeping himself/herself and his/her subordinates informed through records, research, and inspection. • Budgeting - with all that goes with budgeting in the form of planning, accounting and control.

The need for effective and humanising public service delivery is manifested in key government policy and legal documents, including the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996) and the White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery DPSA: 1997), amongst others. The Occupational Certificate: Office Administrator: Public Service Administrator seeks to provide for the needs of employees in the public sector with diverse qualifications, but who have or aspire to enter the managerial cadres. The qualification is characterised by its management-orientated approach as the duties of manager demand expertise that would normally not have been included in the undergraduate study. Further, the qualification incorporates the eight Batho Pele principles which were devised to guide the implementation of public service delivery. These principles are: consultation; setting standards; increase access; ensuring curtsey; providing information; openness and transparency; redress and value for money.

Entry Requirements: • NQF Level 4 qualification and/or equivalent experience in the public service. Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL): RPL for access to the external integrated summative assessment: Accredited providers and approved workplaces must apply the internal assessment criteria specified in the related curriculum document to establish and confirm prior learning. Accredited providers and workplaces must confirm prior learning by issuing a statement of results or certifying a work experience record. RPL for access to the qualification: Accredited providers and approved workplaces may recognise prior learning against the relevant access requirements.

• The ability to apply Batho Pele principles to specific work role and service delivery context.
• The ability to build service delivery partnerships and communicate with citizens, stakeholders, and co-workers.
• The ability to manage workplace outcomes.
• The ability to manage human resources.
• The ability to manage finances and supply chain as it relates to work environment.