Short Courses and Skills Program
What is the link between
the delivery of Short Learning Programmes and the
disbursement of skills Levies?
There is the mistaken notion that skills levies can
only be disbursed to employers if the employer makes
use of an accredited provider, i.e. a provider accredited
by an ETQA. This is not
correct.
The Skills Development Levies Act (97 of 1998) provides
for the recovery of the levy payment based on the
submission of Workplace Skills Plans (WSPs); Workplace
Skills Implementation on Plans (WSIP)s and the submission
of the names of Skills Development Facilitators (SDF)s.
However, the use of accredited providers of education
and training who offer registered learning programmes
will make it possible for learners to become more
mobile and able to transfer their learning to different
contexts and so enhance the portability of skills.
The regulations of the Skills Development Levies
Act (No. 9 of 1999) stipulate the following:
There are six types of grants which an employer may
claim. These are:
- A workplace skills grant
- A workplace skills implementation grant;
- A grant towards the cost of learnership and leaner
allowances;
- A grant towards the cost of skills programmes;
- A grant towards the cost of providing apprenticeship
training; and
- A grant towards programme, project, or research
activity that helps the relevant Sector Education
and Training Authority (SETA) to implement its Sector
Skills Plan
The first two grants (the WSP and the WSIP) are referred
to in the regulations as mandatory grants.
Provided an employer submits the application correctly
and on time, the relevant SETA is obliged to pay these
grants.
Some
Useful Definitions
Short Learning Programme is the term used
for all short programmes, whether credits are awarded
or no, and it includes skills programmes, credit-bearing
short courses.
Skills Programme is an occupationally based programme
which when completed will constitute credits towards
qualification registered on the NQF.
Short Course is a type of a short learning programme
for which credits are awarded commensurate with the
course's contribution to a qualification.
Certification
Many accredited providers issue certificates to their
learners on completion of a short learning programme
of delegation by the relevant accrediting ETQA. For
credit-bearing short learning programmes, it is important
that the credits achieved are clearly described in
order to facilitate articulation with the qualification
upon which the short learning programme is based.
A certificate should include the following information:
- Name of the provider, e.g. Expert Projects;
- Name of the candidate, e.g. John Doe
- Name of the short l;earning programme. e.g. Budget
Control for Projects
- Credits achieved for unit standards and/pr NQF
identity numbers for unit standards; and
- The name and identity number of the qualification
to which the unit standard belongs, e.g. National
Certificate: Generic Project Management, NQF level
4.
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