Many people do not have the necessary skills and workplace skills to enhance their lives. Skills is also a crucial factor in our growing economy as there is a high demand for skilled workers. This is exactly where SETA’s feature. Firstly, SETA is an acronym for Sector Education and Training Authority and is an initiative of the National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS). SETA’s have been instituted by the labour department to assist with the Skills Development Act which aims to upgrade the skills and competencies of the labour force to improve productivity and employment. The functions and responsibilities of SETAs are set forth in Chapter 3, section 10 of the Skills Development Act, 1998. Their primary function is to contribute to the boosting of skills, to bring skills to the employed, or those wanting to be employed, in their section. This should be done by ensuring that people learn skills that are needed by employers and communities. Training is not only important for young adults entering the employment world, it is important for existing employees as well to upgrade their skills set. Another purpose of SETAs is also to manage the various skills development needs of the South African economy and to facilitate training for out-of-school youth as well as anyone who needs additional skills and further training. Worth mentioning is that employers, trade unions and government departments are all members of the SETA’s.
Fundamentally the economy is arranged into 21 sectors, each of which has its own SETA. Every profession or job occupation and industry are part of one of the SETA’s. A sector is made up of economic activities that are linked and related. So, for example, there is a SETA that deals with the banking sector and one that deals with the agriculture sector. Each SETA recognizes the skills needs of its sector, and then coordinates skills development and training to meet them. This includes anything from learnerships, and internships to several types of learning programs. SETA’s are important as they are needed for employers to claim for a skills levy. Employers therefore need to register with their respective SETA to be able to claim for their skills levy.
To accomplish the objectives and targets set out by the Skills Development Act SETA’s ought to satisfy their part in the accompanying manners:
- Develop a sector skills plan.
- Implement the sector skills plan.
- Develop and administer learnerships.
- Support the implementation of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).
- Accredit education and training providers.
- Monitor provision to ensure that programmes are being followed.
- Register Assessors.
- Collaborate with other Education and Training Quality Assurers (ETQA).
- Report to the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) on how they fulfil the ETQA role.
- Pay out levies collected from employers in their sector.
- Promote learning programmes
- Register agreements for learning programmes
- Liaise with National Skills Authority on policy, strategy, and sector skills plan
It is therefore important for employers to register with their industry SETA to assist their employees and the unemployed with skills training that will benefit them.
For more information about SETAS’s please contact Cham-training for more information and one of our experienced consultants will assist you.
marketing@cham-training.co.za 010 040 8335
