The recent focus on the troubles faced by the mining industry has cast a shadow over the ripple effect these troubles have on the downstream industries. The backbone of the manufacturing industry, the foundry and forging industries, remain under pressure due to not only labour unrest in the mining sector and decreased foreign investment, but also due to an ever-present skills gap.

The impact of skills gaps in foundries manifest in profit-reducing areas such as high levels of stock write-offs and high levels of business process inefficiencies, as well as in reputation-damaging areas of low employee morale and reduced customer satisfaction.

While many factors influencing the growth of the foundry industry falls outside of the direct control of foundries, adopting a cross-functional approach to skills development that is aligned with strategic business goals is one of the ways in which foundries can gear up for sustainable growth.

Silo implementation is the worst mistake
A common mistake is to support only certain levels of employees in their professional development. To ensure maximum impact of any skills development initiative it needs to be implemented across various business units and departments to ensure a common understanding and following of the same practices.

Outcomes based skills development
Adopting a cross-functional approach to closing the skills gap will also make business performance attributable to skills development more tangible.

SCAW Metals www.scaw.co.za, Corporate Educator runner-up of the 2013 Supply Chain Management Education Excellence Awards www.scmeea.org.za , experienced this reality first-hand after partaking in SAPICS www.sapics.org  courses relevant to the required skills development outcomes.

Benefits of the implementation of the learnings became apparent quickly:
• OTIF (On-Time In-Full) increase of 15%
• Improved customer satisfaction
• Improved employee moral
• Stock variance decrease of 15%
• Closure of audit findings

A new staffing structure also saw 60% of employees receiving promotions, boosting the previously low employee morale and resulting in better customer service.

Skills development and business goals must be aligned
“The true value of cross-functional skills development initiatives lies in the alignment of business priorities and skills development goals,” says Liezl Smith, SAPICS Director and SCM|EEA judge. “This allows the cost/benefit analysis of skills development initiatives to be based on actual financial outcomes, rather than opinions based on individual experiences.”

Entries for the SCM|EEA 2014 is open until 14 March.The awards, hosted by SAPICS www.sapics.org.za , recognises companies and individuals dedicated to skills development in the field of supply chain management.