South African Business 2016 edition

SPECIAL FEATURE
all stages. This year, 125 new academics are being
appointed as part of the New Generation of
Academics Programme (nGAP). A total of 80%
of the appointees will be women and/or black
academics. These academics will benefit from
structured teaching development and research
development opportunities,” said Manana.
The role of Setas
Setas are also required to deliver against the
National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS) III,
are expected to be aligned to and deliver against
national policies and imperatives including the
Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF), the
Human Resource Development Strategy for
South Africa (HRDS-SA), Industrial Policy Action
Plan (IPAP), the New Growth Path (NGP) and
the White Paper for Post-school Education and
Training.
One example of this in action is Fasset (the
Finance and Accounting Services) Seta, which is
changing the skills development landscape in its
sector by facilitating the delivery of sector-specific
skills interventions, which are not only achieving
the NSDS III goals and other national imperatives,
but which are also addressing employer demand
for skills within the sector in practical ways.
Three skills upliftment initiatives are very important
in this regard: Fasset’s lifelong learning interventions,
the disbursement of PIVOTAL Grants
(grants for Professional, Vocational, Technical and
Academic Learning programmes) and the Seta’s
TVET Workplace Experience Project.
Given that Finance and Accounting Services
is a professional sector, it is imperative that the
skills of employees and employers within the
sector remain current. The majority of Fasset’s
members are SMME practitioners, where budgets
for training are limited. Fasset is able to add
considerable value to its SMME stakeholders
through the Seta’s lifelong learning interventions.
Over 116 046 delegates have attended these
initiatives since inception.
New Seta funding regulations released in
December 2012 opened the way for more effective
interventions via the PIVOTAL Programmes
(Professional, Vocational, Technical and Academic
Learning Programmes) that results in a qualification
or part of a qualification on the National
Qualifications Framework.
Developing PIVOTAL skills gives employees
portable quality-assured qualifications which are
better aligned to specific occupations and to a
specific career path. This is beneficial to both
the individual and to the organisation, and is also
proving to be more sustainable and value-adding
than short courses.
PIVOTAL Programmes are implemented by
way of the PIVOTAL Grant. For example, Fasset’s
PIVOTAL Grant addresses priority scarce and
critical skills needs identified in Fasset’s Sector
Skills Plan. The grant incentives employers to
develop the skills that they have identified to be
in short supply and, as such, are needed for the
sound functioning of the sector.
Fasset is also changing the skills development
landscape for Technical and Vocational
Education and Training (TVET) College learners
through Fasset’s TVET Workplace Experience
Project. Participating Fasset employers are
35 SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2016