Human capital development as a line manager responsibility in the South African education sector

Orientation: Human capital development (HCD) initiatives are crucial in the education sector to improve the delivery of quality education. At the centre of quality teaching and learning are educators and lecturers who are competent and well-equipped to adapt to the changing environment.Research purpose: To explore whether HCD was the key responsibility of line managers in the South African (SA) education sector.Motivation of the study: Line managers are expected to continuously develop the competencies of educators and lecturers by implementing HCD interventions. There is limited empirical evidence that explored HCD responsibilities performed by line managers in the SA education sector.Research approach/design and method: This study adopted a qualitative research method underpinned by the interpretivist paradigm. Semistructured interviews were conducted with n = 12 purposively selected participants. The data collected were analysed using thematic analysis.Main findings: The findings of this article indicated that line managers are responsible for identifying training gaps, implementing HCD interventions and monitoring performance. The study also found that support from key stakeholders is imperative for line managers to effectively implement HCD activities. Furthermore, the study revealed that line managers do not utilise evaluation models to determine the effectiveness of HCD interventions.Practical/managerial implications: The study proposed reciprocal support for HCD stakeholders’ model that can assist policymakers, line managers and HCD professionals within the education sector. The model provides for the division and allocation of HCD tasks.Contributions/value-add: This study contributes to the body of knowledge in HCD within the SA education sector. In the practical context, this article proposed a reciprocal support for HCD stakeholders’ model to improve the effectiveness of HCD initiatives implemented by line managers.