The re-launch of the National Skills Authority (NSA) took place at the Midrand Conference Centre in Gauteng. In attendance at the re-launch were different delegates from government, NSA Constituencies, Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), Colleges, Universities, Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) and Quality Councils.
The aim of the re-launch was to officially introduce the newly elected National Skills Authority Board to the skills development stakeholders and the general public. The board members serve dual purpose of advising the Minister of Higher Education and Training in terms of the Skills Development Act, but also as a link of communication between the NSA and their constituencies.
The NSA Acting Chairperson, Mr Thulani Tshefuta took the platform to speak in length about the achievements of the NSA since its inception, the challenges in skills development and the role the NSA has to continue playing in making sure that these challenges are addressed.
Amongst other issues, Mr Tshefuta also spoke of the NSA’s new role of Monitoring and Evaluation of the SETAs as stated in the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training.
Indeed, some of the SETAs are plagued by many challenges such as failure to achieve the expected training targets and other governance challenges.
The White Paper states that monitoring and evaluation of SETAs must make it possible to understand the levels of efficacies that are being achieved, and to identify where any blockages in the system may be emerging. The white paper goes on to say that the monitoring and evaluation has to take place against the indicators in the Minister’s delivery agreement with the President.
The latter sentiments were echoed by the Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mr Mduduzi Manana who commended the NSA for the work it is doing and also warned of the challenges that still lay ahead.The Deputy Minister further said that there are still numerous challenges bedevilling the skills system. He said that it is important to note that there are very different levels of capacity within the 21 SETAs in terms of governance, management, responsiveness and financial status. This fact holds true to the skills development system as a whole. For this reason, it is not helpful to make blanket generalisations about SETA capacity since there are those SETAs that do a good job. He cautioned that the NSA is still faced with the challenge to empirically and to practically address the capacity challenges through effective monitoring and evaluation. He retorted that apart from the fact that there are systemic weaknesses in reporting and analysis and the integrity of data on targets and indicators, a need exist to strengthen the capacity of the SETA system.
The Deputy Minister also thanked the former NSA Chairperson Mr Eddie Majadibodu for the work he foregrounded in the NSA before his appointment as the Special Advisor to the Minister.
The launch provided a platform for the NSA to reveal its new logo and website which will promote the marketing and enhance communication not only of the NSA and the DHET, but the entire skills development system.
For more information on the NSA you may visit the website: www.nationalskillsauthority.org.za
Twitter and Face-book accounts:
- The Twitter link is https://com/skillsauthority
- Your Facebook link is https://www.facebook.com/National-Skills-Authority-1727503367470656/
Enquiries:
Tel: 012 – 312 5420/5666
E-Mail: Mashongoane.T@dhet.gov.za
Issued by the National Skills Authority