sector skills plan for the health sector in south africa

Therefore, the HWSETA’s skills development interventions will be strongly focused on the alleviation of
skills shortages and the development of new skills that can intervene in the poorest and most under
serviced areas of the country and segments of the population.
Skills-development support and interventions will also give preference to historically disadvantaged
individuals – specifically in the professions where the racial profile is still skewed.
The SETA will also implement a special programme for people with disabilities (Strategy line 15).
6.3.2 CODE OF DECENT CONDUCT
The HWSETA intends to develop, in collaboration with its skills development delivery partners, a code of
decent conduct, to popularise this code through stakeholder capacity-building interventions and to
establish mechanisms to deal with non-compliance (Strategy line 20)
6.3.3 LEARNING PROGRAMMES FOR DECENT WORK
a) Programmes to facilitate access, success and progression
In Chapter 5 of this SSP the problems experienced at school level were highlighted. Of particular
concern is the inadequate quality of education and the fact that learners enter the health-specific
occupational programmes unprepared, which leads to high dropout and failure rates. In view of the
enormous scarcity of skills such wastage in the educational system needs to be contained. In the
planning period the HWSETA will, in collaboration with universities and FET colleges that offer healthrelated
training, develop or fund general bridging courses and specific bridging courses in mathematics
and science (Strategy lines 2 and 3).
The HWSETA will also work with universities on an undergraduate support strategy for health
professional training that will be aimed at increasing the pass rate of undergraduate students (Strategy
line 5).
b) Information and career guidance
The HWSETA will develop a structured career guidance strategy at the beginning of the period covered
by NSDS III. The aim will be to reach as many school learners (grades 7 to 12) as possible and to create
awareness of the occupations in the health sector at all levels. Special attention will be given to
occupations in which skills shortages are experienced and new mid-level occupations that are being
created to alleviate the shortages of professionals (Strategy line 1).
c) Recognition of prior learning
As explained in Chapter 5 of this SSP the HWSETA has already made progress in terms of the
development of RPL mechanisms and the implementation of RPL processes. In this planning period it
will continue with this work in collaboration with the professional bodies in the sector. The key focus
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