SAQA

Project leader Karen Levy-Strauss (from Gold Reef City Club) says we are aiming to run the first Credit-bearing Speechcraft by Playcon 2006: Leave Erich Viedge (who writes these minutes) a message.

Aim of the Project

My ambition with this project is to:

1. Run it as a proper project with Project Charters, Role Definitions, Communication strategies etc etc, it will be practice for me to implement a project management methodology - so that will all be developed on Saturday - will propose we use the wiki route for the project team.

2. I want to use this project to complete the High Performance Leadership Project - haven't worked out yet how I integrate the two - in this project I have to set up a mentor committee and my team need to evaluate my Leadership skills on a regular basis.

I can be contacted on 083-449-6161 if you are interested in joining the project team.

Team

Membership of the team include:

Barry Nelson, ATM-S 082-336-1692 (Florida club)

• Ex-teacher and headmaster
• Runs a church
• Secretary on the District 74 cabinet

Irene Downer DTM, ATM-B, CL work 012-481-1763 (Pretoria 2000)

• Trademark specialist
• 20 years as Toastmaster
• Associate member of national press association

Robin Lunt 083-635-8387 (Scientia)

• Involved at the CSIR in Research (in education amongst others)
• Joined TM in 2001 after doing Speechcraft
• Has run Youthcraft and Speechcraft programmes

Erich Viedge CTM on 083-441-0781 (4th Dimension)

• Does spokesperson training (how to talk to the media)
• Wants to understand if SAQA is relevant to his organization
• Is currently running a Speechcraft

SAQA Background

• The process needs qualified assessors
• Becoming an accredited assessor is not cheap – around R2500 per person
• Have a look at this link here: http://www.toastmasters74.org/initiatives/saqa.html for more information on SAQA and the NQF

Project definition

• If Toastmasters links its aims to Adult Basic Education and Training, there is the potential for government funding
• There are 450,000 school leavers who need training in the next 5 years (100 000 in Adult Basic Education - ABET)
• There are another 125,000 adults (over the age of 35) that need training
• We should start accreditation with Speechcraft for ABET learners. Only afterward should we do the C&L manuals or Speechcraft at a different NQF level.
• District 74 approval is necessary for getting this project off the ground
• There needs to be an official sign-off at every stage by Cabinet and the Project Team

Project Goal

• Run the first “credit-bearing” Speechcraft that adheres to the NQF
• Have the “credit-bearing” Speechcraft be the standard for all Speechcrafts in the country
• Have communications strategy that shows how Toastmasters’ Speechcraft and other programmes integrate with SAQA and best practice training practices
• Identify and priories the target markets

Objectives

(Unpack the goals)

• Run the first pilot
• Develop the supplemental material (the assessment guide that SAQA requires)

Benefits of running a credit-bearing Speechcraft

To the Clubs running the Speechcraft

• Easier to sell speechcrafts to sponsoring organizations
• Source of funds (remember: all funds raised by clubs are subject to Toastmasters International Policy, district by-laws and code of ethics)
• Membership growth
• Development of members (for personal growth)
• Additional speaking opportunities
• Membership retention (you’re giving the existing members an additional challenge)
• Leadership opportunities
• Exposure for the club

To the Client (sponsoring company / organization)

• Gets the rebate from the Skills Development Levy
• Development of their people
• Cost saving – not as expensive as Dale Carnegie etc
• If a club is started, they have an on-going benefit
• Higher morale

To the people presenting the Speechcraft

• Personal development
• Being part of a best-practices project
• Apply Leadership and Organisational skills
• Further your Toastmasters’ Educational Goals (AL and DTM)

To the participants

• They’re getting credit towards a South African qualification in terms of the NQF
• Personal development
• Confidence / self-esteem building

To District 74

• World leader
• Builds the image of Toastmasters
• Building South Africa
• Build Toastmasters
• New clubs
• More members
• Select Distinguished District

Identify Facts / Concerns / Expectations

Facts

• We don’t have sufficient buy-in from members
• We need to build buy-in
• We need to dispel misconceptions

Concerns

• Negativity from members
• That the spirit of Toastmasters will be watered down by this process
• This process will give clubs and members more admin
• What if the evaluations don’t evaluate consistently against the criteria?
• It’s going to replace Toastmasters

Expectations

• That District 74 will grow as a District (in terms of members)
• Grow individuals by giving them life-skills
• District 74 will have improved professionalism in its business of promoting communication and leadership skills

Scope: what the project is/ is not

• It’s not to replace Toastmasters
• It is relevant

Commitment to timelines

• First one run by Playcon 2006 (by 31 March 2006)
• Develop the assessment guide by 30 November

Task List

• Develop supplemental material (Barry and Rob)
• Barry and Rob to present the material to this committee
• Complete a pilot at ABET level 2 (Develop the material and run the course)
• There are many people in other areas -- CPT, KZN and PE. We need to do three pilots -- one for each of the regions.
• Do a survey to see the next biggest need
• Communication
• Barry to talk to Elise about getting the project aired at Kammacon
• Karen to talk to Kerryn House about getting time at Playcon
• Frances to check the following: if we get external funding for assessors, will that be against the constitution of Toastmasters or not?

Critical Success Factors

• Assessment guide
• Instructions on how to run it
• Material itself (from TMI?)

Sustainability

• Pricing guidelines (according to what we found)
• Assessors and moderators
• How to register as an NGO / Non-Profit Organisation

Risks

High Risks

• The District is spending subs money on this
• We're wasting our time with this

Control measure: Communicate

Responsible person: Irene

• The SETAs don't see this as useful

Control measure: Go directly to the National Skills Authority

Responsible person: Karen Levy-Strauss

Medium Risk

• We're changing the Toastmasters material
• It goes against the spirit of Toastmasters. The SAQA thing says you have to be competent; Toastmasters evaluators may "push the Toastmaster through"

• It's going to cost a lot of money because we have to get assessors trained

Low Risk

• It's going to be too onerous on clubs – if they have to have an assessor in the club, then the club will be under pressure to get everybody assessed

Control measure: Do the assessments centrally so that clubs use a central pool of assessors.

Reponsible person: There will be a list of assessors.

Define parties and projects impacted

• Youth Leadership

Work Summary

• Identify the unit standard (Karen)
• Develop assessment guides (Rob / Barry)
• Identify potential customers (Erich) (Talk to Richard Greaves about the ABET centre in Village Deep)
• Run the first speechcraft
• Evaluation of the Speechcraft (Learners evaluate the course)
• Evaluation (by the people who ran the Speechcraft to make sure that the whole thing ran as planned.)
• Finalise the supplementary material based on the feedback