- Title
- An evaluation of a profiling and selection process for apprentices in the South African automotive industry
- Creator
- Puchert, Juliet Ingrid
- Subject
- Artisans -- South Africa
- Subject
- Skilled labor -- South Africa Apprenticeship programs -- South Africa Occupational training -- South Africa Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa
- Date Issued
- 2019
- Date
- 2019
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Doctoral
- Type
- DPhil
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/43314
- Identifier
- vital:36791
- Description
- The South African automotive industry is the biggest manufacturing sector and the largest contributor to the domestic economy. Within the national manufacturing sector, the artisan job family has been identified as a scarce and critical skill. Artisans are a number one area of concern with regard to filling vacancies in the country. The domestic economy as well as the effectiveness and success of the automotive industry could be negatively affected if this artisanal crisis is not adequately addressed. This study aimed to evaluate a profiling and selection process for apprentices in the South African automotive industry. A multiple-stage selection method was used to screen the applicants. The selection process included the following phases: application review, rating of the application documentation, aptitude testing, skills-based teamwork assessment and interviews. The researcher obtained access to the documentation generated through an annual apprentice selection process at a large multi-national automotive firm. The final sample consisted of 3 412 individuals that had applied for two types of apprenticeship programmes, namely, automotive electrician and millwright, across three intake years. Descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution tables and medians were used. Inferential statistical analysis, using survival analysis, was used to assess whether the survival curves were statistically different across the groups. The findings of this study are relevant to the South African automotive industry, as well as the manufacturing sector. The findings are also of value to human resource practitioners, educators, social scientists and other researchers. The 13 constructs investigated in the study showed a high association with longer survival time in the selection process. The positive evaluation of this selection process provides evidence to support its confirmation as the national selection tool. Four recommendations are proposed to the HRM field and four to the automotive industry. The multiple-hurdle selection process employed in this study should be replicated by the automotive industry in their selection of apprenticeship applicants. Standardisation practices, the use of on-line technology and the marketing of the apprenticeship position are also recommended. Furthermore, it is recommended that educational providers provide job preparation workshops to assist applicants to improve their survival opportunity within the selection processes.
- Format
- xxi, 369 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
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NMU School of Industrial Psychology and Human Resources
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | JPUCHERT Full doctoral thesis 15032019 2.pdf | 4 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |