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What is FASSET?
FASSET stands for the Finance and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority. It is the SETA for the finance, accounting, management consulting and other financial services sector, one of South Africa’s 21 SETAs, and it was established under the Skills Development Act 97 of 1998.
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Add a certificate to your CV with BOTI e-learning: 142 self-paced online courses – Excel, Word, project management, customer service and more – from R595 (excl. VAT) with 6 months’ access.
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BOTI is accredited by the QCTO (Quality Council for Trades and Occupations) as a skills development provider, and is a Level 1 B-BBEE (Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment) contributor. Plan the training in your Workplace Skills Plan and count it towards your B-BBEE skills development score.
Get a quote for your team
Beyond the FASSET meaning, this guide explains what FASSET does for job-seekers and employers: its levy and grant funding, how accreditation now works with the QCTO, how to get a FASSET learnership and who can apply for the FASSET bursary. Whether you are a learner comparing qualifications or an employer planning training for finance staff, BOTI’s accredited training courses list the QCTO skills programmes, occupational certificates and SETA qualifications BOTI is accredited to offer.
FASSET’s purpose is to increase the number of people entering employment in finance and accounting, and to develop the skills the sector needs, both for people already working in it and for those who want to join it.
Which sector does FASSET cover?
FASSET’s sector employs people with financial management, accounting and auditing skills. It includes:
- investment entities, trusts and company secretary services
- stockbroking and financial markets
- financial development organisations
- accounting, bookkeeping, auditing and tax services
- business and management consulting services
- the South African Revenue Service (SARS)
- the national and provincial treasuries
- other activities that support financial services
FASSET’s role is to see that the people who work in these fields have the education, training and skills their jobs require.
What is the function of FASSET?
Every SETA has a mandate to develop the skills of the people in its sector. FASSET’s objectives include:
- developing the competence of current employees in the sector and of potential employees
- improving employees’ quality of life and their work prospects
- improving productivity in the workplace, which in turn makes employers more competitive
- improving self-employment prospects for people who have the knowledge and skills but cannot find work
- encouraging continuous learning and active skills development in the workplace, for employees and employers
- making it easier for new entrants to find work and gain their first work experience
In practice, FASSET manages the levy-grant system for its sector and funds learnerships and bursaries. Like the other SETAs, it also works with the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) as one of the QCTO’s Quality Partners.
FASSET accreditation: how it works now
Under the old system, each SETA had an Education and Training Quality Assurance body (ETQA) that accredited training providers against unit-standard (pre-2009) qualifications in its sector and checked their assessment decisions. FASSET’s accreditation followed that model: a provider applied to FASSET, which evaluated it before granting accreditation.
Today, providers of occupational qualifications, part-qualifications and skills programmes apply for accreditation directly to the QCTO. The QCTO accredits Skills Development Providers (SDPs) in partnership with its Quality Partners, which include SETAs and professional bodies, under signed service level agreements. QCTO accreditation lasts five years from the date it is granted, and the QCTO can withdraw it.[1] A provider that a SETA accredited for a legacy qualification keeps that accreditation only until the qualification’s teach-out ends.
The final assessment has changed too. An occupational qualification or part-qualification ends in the External Integrated Summative Assessment (EISA) at a QCTO-accredited assessment centre, and the QCTO issues the Occupational Certificate. A QCTO skills programme ends in a Final Integrated Supervised Assessment (FISA), which the accredited provider sets, runs and moderates under QCTO rules.
How to check a training provider’s accreditation
- Ask for the provider’s accreditation letter and check the accreditation number, the valid-to date and the scope: the exact qualification or skills programme, by name and SAQA ID or programme code.
- For a legacy qualification, look it up on SAQA’s register and check its last date for enrolment and its last date for achievement.
- A short course that is not accredited can still be useful, but it usually leads to a certificate of attendance, not to NQF credits.
FASSET qualifications
As in every sector, qualifications in finance and accounting are moving from legacy (pre-2009) qualifications built from unit standards to occupational qualifications on the QCTO’s Occupational Qualifications Sub-Framework. Legacy qualifications reached their registration end date on 30 June 2023, and extensions since then have been granted qualification by qualification. The final Directive, gazetted on 17 June 2026,[2] allowed extensions of 6 to 24 months for selected pre-2009 qualifications on SAQA’s lists.[3] Every qualification already awarded remains valid and recorded on the National Learners’ Records Database (NLRD).
The QCTO system has three kinds of programme:
- an occupational qualification of 120 credits or more, which ends in the EISA and a QCTO Occupational Certificate
- a part-qualification of fewer than 120 credits, which also ends in the EISA and an Occupational Certificate
- a skills programme of 8 to 60 credits, which the QCTO records on its database and which ends in a FISA
Before you enrol on any qualification, check its record on SAQA’s register for the last date for enrolment and the last date for achievement, and confirm that the provider is accredited for it.
FASSET funding: the skills levy and grants
The Skills Development Act provides for the financing of skills development through a levy-grant scheme and a National Skills Fund (NSF). Employers pay the Skills Development Levy (SDL), 1% of payroll,[4] every month through SARS. The levy is split as follows:[5]
- 80% goes to the SETA: 49.5% of the levy for discretionary grants, 20% for mandatory grants, 10% for administration and 0.5% for the QCTO
- the other 20% goes to the National Skills Fund
Mandatory grants
The mandatory grant is 20% of an employer’s levy. To claim it, the employer must submit its Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) and Annual Training Report (ATR) by 30 April and be up to date with its levy payments.[5] The WSP is the employer’s training plan; the ATR reports the training actually done in the previous year. Mandatory grant money that is not claimed moves to discretionary funding by 15 August each year.[5]
Discretionary grants
SETAs pay grants under the SETA Grant Regulations, published in Government Gazette 35940 of 3 December 2012.[6] Discretionary grants are extra funding that FASSET awards at its discretion, for example for learnerships and other projects linked to the sector’s skills needs. Their main target is PIVOTAL programmes: Professional, Vocational, Technical and Academic Learning programmes that result in qualifications or part-qualifications on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). Discretionary grants depend on the funds available and on FASSET’s criteria, so they are never guaranteed.
FASSET learnerships
A learnership is a structured programme that combines theory with practical experience in the workplace and leads to an NQF-registered qualification. The learner, the employer and the training provider sign a fixed-term agreement: the learner studies with the provider and gains hands-on experience at work under the guidance of a mentor. SETAs fund learnerships through learnership grants.
The workplace that hosts a learner must be able to provide work experience relevant to the qualification, the resources the learner needs and the support to see the learnership through. FASSET learnerships relate to its own sector, finance and accounting, and the qualifications offered change from one call to the next, so read each call for its field and entry requirements.
How do you get a SETA learnership?
- Look for current learnership calls on FASSET’s own website and in adverts from employers in the finance and accounting sector.
- Check that you meet the entry requirements of the qualification and the employer’s selection criteria.
- Apply only through the channel each call names.
- Some learnerships pay a monthly allowance, often called a stipend. If one is paid, the amount is set out in the learnership agreement.
- How long a learnership lasts depends on the qualification. It gives you workplace experience, but it does not guarantee a permanent job.
FASSET bursary
FASSET has funded bursaries to help South African students study towards finance and accounting qualifications. Past calls were aimed at students who could show financial need and were already part-way through an undergraduate degree in fields such as finance, accounting and economics, and the bursary mainly covered tuition.
Who can apply for the FASSET bursary?
Each bursary call sets its own criteria. Citizenship, a matric certificate, the field and year of study, mathematics results and financial need have all featured in past calls. Windows, criteria, closing dates and the way to apply change from year to year, so this guide does not list amounts, forms or deadlines. Read the current call on FASSET’s official website and apply only through the channel it gives. A bursary is never guaranteed: awards depend on the funds available.
What employers in the finance sector can do
- Pay the skills levy on time: being up to date is one of the conditions for the mandatory grant.
- Have a skills development facilitator (SDF) prepare and submit your WSP and ATR by 30 April.[5] BOTI’s Skills Development Facilitator (SDF) Training Course is for staff taking on that role.
- Plan the year’s training in the WSP, including any learnerships you want to host.
- For grant-funded or credit-bearing training, check that the provider is accredited for the exact programme.
- Skills development spend also counts on the B-BBEE scorecard, but no grant or scorecard points can be promised in advance.
For finance teams, BOTI’s finance courses include Basic Bookkeeping, VAT & Tax Basics for Finance Professionals, FICA, Anti-Money Laundering and KYC Training, Advanced Excel and Financial Modelling for Accountants, AI for Finance and Accounting and, for public-sector finance staff, Public Finance Management (PFMA) Training. These short courses are not accredited, and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance. They run in-house at your premises, at BOTI’s venue in Sunningdale, Johannesburg, or online. Call 011 882 8853 to plan training for your team.
Frequently asked questions
What does FASSET stand for?
FASSET stands for the Finance and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority: the SETA for the finance, accounting, management consulting and other financial services sector. It was established under the Skills Development Act 97 of 1998 and is one of South Africa’s 21 SETAs. Its job is to grow the number of people entering finance and accounting work and to develop the skills the sector needs.
What does FASSET do?
FASSET develops the skills of current and potential employees in the finance and accounting sector, helps new entrants find their first work experience, and encourages continuous learning in the workplace. It manages the levy-grant system for the sector, paying mandatory grants to employers who submit their skills plans and discretionary grants for learnerships, apprenticeships and strategic projects, and it offers learnerships and bursaries.
How do I get a FASSET learnership?
Look for current learnership calls on FASSET’s own website and in adverts from employers in the finance and accounting sector, and apply only through the channel each call names. A learnership combines classroom theory with workplace experience under a fixed-term contract between the learner, the employer and the training provider, and its length depends on the qualification. Any monthly allowance (stipend) is set out in the learnership agreement, and a learnership does not guarantee permanent employment.
Does FASSET still accredit training providers?
For the newer occupational qualifications, part-qualifications and skills programmes, training providers now apply for accreditation directly to the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO), and SETAs act as QCTO Quality Partners under service level agreements. SETAs keep the accreditation they granted for legacy qualifications until each one’s teach-out ends. Learners should check that a provider is accredited for the specific programme.
How do FASSET grants work for employers?
Employers pay the Skills Development Levy of 1% of payroll through SARS.[4] Employers who submit their Workplace Skills Plan and Annual Training Report on time (the deadline is 30 April) and are up to date with levy payments can claim a mandatory grant of 20% of their levy.[5] Discretionary grants are extra funding, awarded at FASSET’s discretion, for learnerships, apprenticeships and strategic projects.
FASSET’s mandatory grants depend on the Workplace Skills Plan and Annual Training Report, which a skills development facilitator usually prepares by 30 April.[5] BOTI’s Skills Development Facilitator (SDF) Training Course is for staff taking on that role. It runs in-house at your premises, at our venue in Sunningdale, Johannesburg, or online.
Sources
- For skills development providers – Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO), 2026.
- Directive on the implementation of transitional arrangements for pre-2009 qualifications (Government Gazette 54858) – Minister of Higher Education and Training, 17 June 2026.
- Pre-2009 Extended Qualifications – South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), June 2026.
- Skills Development Levy – South African Revenue Service (SARS), 2026.
- Mandatory Grants – Health and Welfare SETA (HWSETA), 2026.
- Grants Policy 2025/26 – merSETA, 2024.
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