National Skills Authority (NSA) liaise with the SETAs on their performance and the future of skills development in supporting SA‘s inclusive economic growth
The National Skills Authority (NSA) convened a meeting on Friday the 2 October 2015 with the representatives of the 21 Governing structures of the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) as part of the NSA’s legislative role of monitoring the performance of the SETAs. The Skills Development Act 97 of 1998 as amended requires that the NSA must liaise with the SETAs national skills development strategy whereas the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training (WP-PSET 2013) mandates the NSA to monitor and to evaluate the SETAs. It is envisaged that monitoring and evaluation must make it possible to understand the levels of efficacy that are being achieved, and to identify where any blockages in the system may be emerging particularly for the achievements of the current National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS III) goals.
Part of the delegates of the NSA meeting with the SETAs held in Boksburg
The Acting Chairperson Mr Thulani Tshefuta indicated that the meeting aimed at monitoring performance against NSDS III and other related programmes by highlighting achievements and challenges; learning from the SETA experience and observations of the current landscape and on NSDS as well as soliciting proposals and recommendations on the future strategy and landscape. The engagement was informed by the reconstitution of the NSA, the expiry of the term the third NSDS and the Seta landscape in March 2016 and the urgency to review the same. The discussions of the meeting were underpinned also by the National Development Plan 2030 (NDP) indicating that “To build a socially cohesive society, South Africa needs to reduce poverty and inequality by broadening opportunity and employment through economic inclusion, education and skills, and specific redress measures…”
It was acknowledged that in order to realize the vision of the NDP by the year 2030, the economy should enable full employment, equip people with the skills they need, ensure that ownership of production is more diverse and able to grow rapidly, and provide the resources to pay for investment in human and physical capital. Hence, today’s performance in the delivery of skills must be supported by effective monitoring and evaluation system and by building a strong relationship between the college sector and industry. Thus, it remains a fact that the SETAs have a crucial role in building relationships between education institutions and the employers. With regard to the observation on their performance and the future Seta landscape, it was noted that in order to achieve the education and training priorities, skills development institutions must be strengthened and the NSDS should address the skills gaps. A clear and well-defined mandate is the crucial first step in improving their capacity of the SETAs to avoid conflating their objectives and reducing inappropriate targets is necessary since this leads to a diffused focus, and great difficulty in strategic planning. It has also meant that most SETAs have not been able to play their key role of linking education and work. The NSA raised concerns about the way in which SETAs report to the DHET; information is not provided consistently across SETAs in a manner that enables effective monitoring of their performance. The Minister of Higher Education and Training Dr Bonginkosi Nzimande together with the DHET are working towards the development of a clear, simple and focused mandate for the SETAs, and on establishing effective mechanisms to evaluate their performance.
Challenges and the lessons learnt during the implementation of the third National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS III) can be succinctly summarized by Section 8.4 of the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training (WP-PSET) stating that a number of important policy shifts in NSDS III are being incrementally addressed and implemented. These include: providing greater levels of access to education and training in rural areas; increasing collaboration between the skills system, government and industry; driving skills development primarily through the public education system, and in particular through universities and TVET colleges; and focusing less on numerical targets and more on outcomes and impact. These policy imperatives will continue to drive the skills development system into NSDS IV and beyond.
Enq: Ms Sally Mangubewa at Mangubewa.S@dhet.gov.za or 012 312 5666