Abstract

Background: The purpose of the paper is to provide an overview of the factors that undermine the transfer of skills at Medupi Power Station at the project level looking at the skills development training programmes.

Methodology: The study was conducted by collecting data from a purposive sample of n=402 employees and 12 officials responsible for skills-based training and capacity building during the project's construction phase. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods of date collection.

Result: The key cause of underperformance and factors that undermine the skills transfer at the power station is the lack of specialised engineering skills. The shortage includes artisan and vocational skills. The lack of such skills is known to hamper the successful completion of various construction and power generation and distribution projects at the power station.

Contributions: The study has identified factors that significantly hinder the successful transfer of skills from well-skilled and highly knowledgeable expatriate employees to poorly skilled local employees by interviewing local employees working at Medupi Power Station.

Conclusion: It is possible for the project to ensure a better skill transfer or training programme if enforcement is conducted, to allow employees to be ahead of their work requirements and advance to the new developmental area. And have a structured and monitored programme where the top leadership of Medupi Power Station should assess and evaluate the level of efficiency in transferring skills from well-experienced expatriate employees to poorly skilled local employees.