Exploring the relationship between skills development transfer and organisational commitment, a case of Free S

One of the legacies of Apartheid South Africa which has ominous consequences for the economy, is the insidious/pervasive dire skills shortage for majority of the citizen. Compelling government to embark on an intensive wholesale skills development to ameliorate and stimulate the general economic performance. This paper therefore, intends to explore the relationship between employee organisational commitment (OCS by Allen & Smith, 1993) and training as measured on seminal work by Kirkpatrick?s training transfer framework. A survey was employed to collect data from 59 randomly selected TVET sector employees in the Free State Province of South Africa. The findings revealed some profound correlation between the two variables namely, training and organisational commitment, for example, 83% are appreciative of the training opportunity, 67% expressed commitment to the organisation, with meagre 23% indicating intention to use acquired new skills to look for greener pastures elsewhere. This paper attempts to assist organisations better tailor their training provision to enhance employee commitment and reduce the rate of staff turnover.