Various concerns and questions have been posed regarding the license expiry date of Setas which clearly indicates March 2018. Herewith a summary that I have compiled for you from the Proposed Landscape – NSLP 2015.
It is clear that the Setas are NOT going anywhere, however there will be major restructuring starting very soon. The Setas will change from Seta to SetaB! What does that mean? Why are there changes? Herewith the reasons:
Various issues have been unacceptable by DHET which includes:
- Problems with the day-to-day Operations of Setas persist
- Setas have failed to meet annual targets
- Setas have failed to disburse the levies collected, meaning that training which could have occurred, did NOT
- All Setas have developed their own application and disbursement procedures, which differ on issues such as: what is funded, length of process, timing and methods of advertising application opportunities, payment of tranches, monitoring and verification of reporting requirements
- Different administrative procedures – difficult to comply with all the Setas
- Malpractices which have continued to “dog” too many Setas since inception
- Staff and Boards which are highly uneven and in some cases have risen to levels which are unacceptably high
- Uneven efficiency of grant processing in many cases and the incidences of corruption and fraud that continued to plague certain SETAs
- Providers are finding it difficult to establish a coherent vehicle for securing workplace based learning opportunities for learners – Continues
- Capacity problems exist in the Setas (historical and even today still)
So what do we need and want?
- Confusion must come to an end.
- A single, streamlined system must be instituted for all Setas.
- Common application procedures,
- Common set of requirements for different categories of grants,
- Common set of timeframes and deadlines for all to easily understand.
- Standardisation must go beyond timeframes and procedures!
So what does this document tell us about Setas?
- The SETAs as we know them, will be replaced by SETABs (Sector Education and Training Advisory Boards) – no more Authorities
- Continue to build relationships developed by SETAs with employers in their sectors
- Better understand of training needs in and for workplaces
- Engage with DHET through the NSF to propose plans for their sectors in order for the NSF to allocate funds to the SETABs, ensuring education and training interventions and programmes take place to address scarce and critical skills
How will the SetaBs be clustered?
- SETAs will be replaced by SETABs (Sector Education and Training Advisory Boards)
- SETABs will become permanent structures (no more 5-year terms/licenses)
| Cluster 1 | Cluster 2 | Cluster 3 | Cluster 4 | Cluster 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LG SETA | INSETA | AGRISETA | MQA | MERSETA |
| ETDP SETA | BANKSETA | WR SETA | TETA | MICT SETA |
| HWSETA | FASSET | CATHSSETA | CETA | CHIETA |
| PSETA | SERVICES SETA | EWSETA | FP7M SETA | |
| SASSETA | FOODBEV SETA |
What other changes are going to happen?
- What is going to happen to the CEOs? Well, with the new SETABs to be established in April 2018, the CEO titles will be changed to Director.
- The SETABs will determine the skills needs of employers
- The SETABs will secure workplace-based learning opportunities for learners
- The SETABs will support institutional and workplace-based learning of the current workforce
- The SETABs will support education and training institutions to meet skills needs
- The SETABs will support, system support functions and manage the budgets linked to their mandate
SETABs will be submitting information to DHET, whereby they will need to comply with templates and methodologies that are determined centrally by DHET. - It is proposed that the QCTO will take over the Quality Assurance (the old ETQA functions) continue to monitor SETABs
- Standard procedures for the application of grants will be developed and Online applications will also be implemented!
- The current target date that the NSF will take control of the Levies is currently April 2018
- Pivotal Grants will be carefully designed to complement the allocation criteria of voted funds, which will primarily focus on theoretical and practical learning at public education and training providers
Yes, there are various questions regarding the changes, and some additional changes will occur, as the process is implemented and the re-structuring commence.
The importance of this document gives light to the proposed changes, and we need to make note, that there could be additional changes. The upcoming NSDS IV will also be a very interesting strategy with information that we are waiting for.
This gives a very good indication that Providers will continue with their training, they will fall under the SETABs. It is important that you continue in your quality training, get ready for the changes, as standardisation is going to be implemented, which we have been waiting for, for more than a decade! As and when additional information is publish, we wil share and keep each other informed.
Note: The QCTO is very important, and we need to continue building a good relationship with the QCTO team and the current Setas to ensure quality education! When addressing concerns and issues: this will just benefit everybody to ensure that possible future issues can be avoided!
Posted by Lynel Farrell on November 17, 2016