An Introduction to the Role of the SDF Presented By: Thrive Learning Facilitation Andrea van der Westhuizen

1. An Introduction to the Role of the SDFPresented By:Thrive Learning FacilitationAndrea van der Westhuizen FASSET SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FACILITATOR WORKSHOP

2. Overview Section 1: Understanding the Structures & Relationships between SAQA & SDA Legislation Section 2: Assessment & the NQF Section 3: Developing the Strategic Role of the SDF Section 4: Developing & Implementing a WSP Section 5: Levies and grants Section 6: Understanding Learnerships Section 7: Implementing and managing Learnerships

3. Section1 Understanding the Structures & Relationships between SAQA and SDA Legislation

4. Department of Education • SAQA Act passed in 1995 • SAQA responsible for: • Overseeing the development & implementation of the NQF • Formulating policy & criteria for registration of various bodies (ETQA/Standard Advisory Panels/ SGB’s) • Responsible for registration of unit standards & qualifications • Ensure the unit standards & qualifications are Internationally comparable • New NQF Act of 2008

5. National Qualifications Framework • NQF – A vehicle for: • The eradication of unjustness • The achievement of reconstruction & development goals • The transformation & the promotion of quality in education & training • It does this by: • Creating an integrated national framework of learning achievements; • Facilitating access to mobility & progression within education, training & career paths; • Enhancing the quality of education & training; • Accelerating the redress of past unfair discrimination in education, training & employment opportunities and thereby; • Contributing to the full personal development of each learner and the social & economic development of the nation at large.

6. Structure of the NQF

7. Some Changes A new Occupational Learning System (OLS) which is market and job focused rather than purely learner focused

8. Department of Labour • Skills Development Act passed in 1998 with the intention of: • Develop skills of S.A. workforce • Increase levels of investment in education & training in the labour market • Improve the return on investment • Encourage employers to use the workplace as an active learning environment • Provide employees with opportunities to acquire new skills • Set up the Seta system and the grant claim processes

9. The Seta System • 23 different Seta’s to cater for each industry’s need • 2 main functions: • To identify & address skills needs in their sector. Through: • Compile & implement of the sector skills plan • The SDL grant claim process (WSP & ATR) • Establish & promote learnerships • Discretionary grants & special schemes • Quality assure education & training in their sector. Through their ETQA they: • Accredit training providers (quality checks, monitoring & moderations)

10. The NQF 8765 (HETC) Higher Education Dept of Education Dept of Labour 432 (FETC) Further Education SKILLS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY SA Qualifications Authority (SAQA) National Skills Authority (NSA) (GETC) General Education SCHOOL 1 ABET SETAs Sectoral Education & Training Authority Standards Advisory Panels NLRD ETQA’s Education & Training Quality Assurers SARS SGB’s Standards Generating Bodies Companies 1% Levy Learners Providers

11. Section2 Assessment and the NQF

12. Unit standards – what are they? • A unit standard is: • A collection of knowledge, skills and attributes in which a candidate must prove competence (in a structured assessment) to gain credits on the NQF • a “portable module of competency” • A unit standard document describes: • a coherent and meaningful outcome of learning that we want recognised nationally (title), • the smaller more manageable outcomes that make up the main outcome (specific outcomes), • the standards of performance required as proof of competence (assessment criteria). You can see unit standards & qualifications registered on the NQF on www.saqa.org.za

13. Assessment By completing an assessment learners are declared competent and awarded a unit standard(s) and credits on the NQF Assessment is therefore: • A structured process for gathering evidence and making a judgment about an individual’s performance in relation to registered national standard(s)

14. More about assessment…. • Assessment will reflect your: • Practical competence – perform a set of tasks • Foundational competence – understand what & why you are doing the task • Reflexive competence – you can integrate what you know and perform in a different context • Good assessment is: • Structured • Transparent • Negotiated • Objective

15. More about assessment…. • Formative assessment: This takes place during the process of learning and teaching • Summative assessment: This is carried out against a registered unit standard and usually takes place at the end of a learning programme. • Types of assessment: • Observation • Demonstrating & questioning • Exams & Tests • Oral tests • Projects/assignments • Computer based training • Role play simulations What type of assessment works best for you?

16. What is RPL? A process whereby people are given formal recognition for the skills & knowledge they already have, regardless of where the learning took place. They will complete an assessment, similar to what is described above and in return will be certificated and granted unit standards in accordance with their competence.

17. Need more information? Your workbook has lots of information on these topics. Have a look under Section 1 and 2 for more detail The workbook can be found on the Website: www.fasset.org.za

18. National Picture activity Can you see how these structures relate to each other? Their functions? Can you see what the role & functions are of the people involved and the structures in place??

19. Section3 Developing the Strategic Role of the SDF

20. What do SDF’s do? • What do you think SDF’s do? • What skills would they need? • What knowledge would they have to have? • What attributes would they have?

21. SDF Roles • Promote a learning culture in organisations • Co-ordinate planned education, training and development in an organisation • Advise on the alignment of skills development objectives and practices with strategic objectives in an organisation • Advise on the establishment and implementation of a quality management system for skill development practices in organisations • Assist the employer and employees to develop a workplace skills plan which complies with the requirements of the Seta (including a training committee) • Serve as a resource with regard to all aspects of skills development & Seta initiatives

22. In other words you are a: • Facilitator: To facilitate the development of an employer’s skills development strategy. • Expert: To serve as an expert resource for accrediting the employer and for the employment and accreditation of appropriate learnerships and skills programmes. • Administrator: To draft and submit the workplace skills plans and annual training reports. • Advisor: To advise the employers and employees on the national skills development strategy and on the implementation of its workplace skills plans. • Education and needs evaluator: To assess the skills development needs of the organisation. • Mediator: To serve as a contact person between the employer and the relevant Seta.

23. SDF skills • Planning • Organising & coordinating • Communicating • Facilitating • Listening & questioning • Researching • Evaluating

24. SDF Knowledge & Attributes • Knowledge: • SD legislation • Business strategy: • Vision • Mission • Operational issues • Attributes: • Relationship building • Objectivity • Integrity • Conflict resolution

25. Training Committees • What do you think training committees should do? • What does your committee do?

26. Objectives of the Training Committee • Provide input to and endorse workplace skills plan (WSP). • Advise the organisation on implementation of the WSP. • Ensure WSP addresses employment equity (EE) issues and EE plan. • Compliance with international and national legislation. • Provide input to and ensure compliance to skills development quality assurance system. • Monitor and report on implementation of skills development strategies. • Ensure support of learners throughout skills development implementation. • Monitor and report on skills development budget expenditure. • Communicate with key skills development stakeholders (internal and external). • Create awareness of and promote skills audits and individual development plans.

27. Communication; Road shows/ newsletters Obtain buy-in and commitment Promote concept Liaise with others Monitoring; Budget (cost centers, people, comply to plan) WSP/ EE plan • Skills Audit and Development • Plans; • Job profiles • SWOT skills analysis • People assessment/ career pathways • Evaluation • Other; • Re-introduce cultural diversity training • SGB involvement • Implementation strategy • Support EE plan Training Committee TC mandate; establish milestones capacity building vision, mission, scope job profiles for committee (role of individual vs role of group) and responsibilities time to invest • Assessment System; • Assessors • RPL • Quality Assurance Systems • Learnerships • Head office policies and procedures • Compliance with legislation; • SDF • WSP • Implementation • Timeframes • Reporting • International Role of the Training Committee

28. Section4 Developing and implementing a WSP

29. WSP process • Why is planning your organisation’s training & development important? • Buy-in & co-operation • Certainty – resource allocation • Assists with change and transformation issues • Implementation and measurement Where are you now and where do you want to be??

30. WSP Process: • Understanding all the influences or “inputs” into your training plan. These could include: • National issues – legislation (OHS?), industry expectations (CPD?), macro economic issues, market changes etc. Can you think of anymore? • Company issues – Vision & mission, business strategy & objectives, transformation (EE & BEE), productivity, succession & career planning, health & safety, budget, skills gaps etc. • Individual issues – individual requests & ambitions, employee performance/competency issues, personal development plans, soft skills & ABET etc.

31. Activity What are the issues in your environment? • National • Company & • Individual

32. WSP planning process cont. • Ensuring inputs from all areas are included – i.e. top down & bottom up • Prioritise and sort in consultation with your training committee (& sometimes line management) • Allocate training providers to beneficiaries • Capture information into the WSP • Obtain buy-in and sign off

33. Conducting Skills Audits • An organisational skills audit will entail: • Understanding vision, mission, strategy and objectives of the business • Determining what the skills are required if the organisation is to achieve goals • Assessing current skills • Identifying the gap and facilitating the bridging of that gap

34. Scarce & Critical Skills The Dept of Labour has also mandated the Seta’s in recent years to gather urgent data on Scarce and Critical Skills. • Scarce Skills: people to fill job vacancies are scarce • Critical skills: specific skill that is “critical” to the full functioning of a person within their job These skills are linked to a coding system to enable cross sector and national research – these are called OFO codes (Organising Framework for Occupations)

35. The ATR/WSP Template Take 10 minutes to have a look through the template. • Can you see: • The training you completed last year? • Skills priorities for last year and this upcoming year? • The employee profile? Disabled & employee categories? • The training you are planning this year?

36. Section5 Levies and Grants

37. Where your money goes . . . Your Company During the year you can claim for: Receive up to 70% back from successful claims Mandatory Grants: Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) and Annual Training Report (ATR) Strategic Cash Grants Receive 50% back of levy paid Pays Skills Development Levy to SARS (1% of your company’s total remuneration) Submit grant claim Receive up to 20% back Submit ATR & WSP to SETA SETA retains 10% levy for admin purposes Allocates the levy 20% of levy goes to the National Skills Fund for learnerships SARS Fasset to Fasset

38. Mandatory Grant 10th Levy Year: • 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 Submission deadline is 30 June 2009 (with extension to 31 July 2009 in case of Force Majeur) • This is for the combined document: • ATR (2008 – 2009) • WSP (2009 – 2010) And will lead to a 50% of your annual SDL grant rebate

39. Strategic Cash Grant This is a grant that includes your remaining 20% of annual SDL. You can claim this through undertaking education and training interventions in certain strategic skills priority areas for the financial year 2009/10 from 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010. See www.fasset.org.za for more details on the strategic skills priorities and the criteria for claiming these grants

40. Learnership Cash Grant Learnership Cash Grants are available for: • SDL Paying employers • Non-levy paying employers For the employment of black learners, the grant is as follows: • 1 year (12 months): R 11 000 • 2 year (24 months): R 18 000 • 3 year (36 months): R 27 000 For the employment of learners with a disability: • 1 year (12 months): R 19 250 • 2 year (24 months): R 31 500 • 3 year (36 months): R 47 250

41. Learnership Cash Grant Tax rebate available for all learners on a enrolled on a learnership! See www.fasset.org.za for more details on the criteria for claiming these grants

42. ABET Programme • Designed for adult learners to improve literacy and numeracy skills • Enable them to further their path on the NQF ABET consists of 4 levels: • ABET level 1 (= Std 1 / Grade 3) • ABET level 2 (= Std 3 / Grade 5) • ABET level 3 (= Std 5 / Grade 7) • ABET level 4 (= Std 7 / Grade 9) Fasset programme will deliver ABET levels 1-4. Each level takes approximately 120 hours per learning

43. ABET Programme Contact : Mr Samson Baloyi - Triple E Training Tel: (011) 953-1663 Cell: 083 627 4556 Fax: (011) 660-5827 E-mail: samson@eee.co.za

44. Development Projects All development Projects are geared towards addressing the poor demographic profile within the sector in line with the NSDS targets. The current projects are: • Bonani Workplace Readiness Programme 2007 – 2010 • Thusanani Workplace Readiness Programme 2007 – 2009 • Thuthuka Programmes • University of Fort Hare (UFH) Postgraduate Programme • Full time CTA Programme • ORT CAT Work Readiness Programme Full details of development projects available on www.fasset.org.za under Fasset Development Projects.

45. Section6 Understanding learnerships

46. Learnerships What do you think a learnership is?And what is it NOT?

47. Learnerships • An apprenticeship on steroids! • SAQA Qualification - structured programmes. • Public documents registered by ETQA’s • 18.1 (previously employed) or 18.2 (unemployed) • Across the NQF • 3-way contract – employment contract terminates at the end of the learnership

48. Difference between learnership & apprenticeships

49. Section7 Implementing and managing learnerships

50. What do you need to do to implement a learnership? • Get a list of registered learnerships from the Department of Labour or Fasset • Match these to your defined skills needs • Gain accreditation as an employer (and/or training provider) with the relevant ETQA • Sign a learnership agreement with the training provider and the learner and employ learners (sign an employment contract) • Discuss and agree to the curriculum for the learnership with the training provider