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What is INSETA?
INSETA stands for Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority. The main purpose of this SETA is to grow the quality and value of critical and scarce skills within the insurance sector.
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INSETA is one of South Africa’s 21 SETAs and, under a service level agreement that runs from 2022 to 2030, a delegated Quality Partner of the QCTO. This guide explains what INSETA does, how an INSETA learnership and its stipend work, INSETA skills programmes and accreditation, and who can get an INSETA bursary. For qualifications that can be run as learnerships, see BOTI’s SETA qualifications, and check each one’s last date for enrolment before you sign up.
The insurance industry is a diverse industry with highly skilled employees in the industry. They include a wide range of employers who function in different sized businesses in the insurance space. As a legal institution that has the responsibility of skills development in the insurance and related services sector, INSETA is adequately positioned to improve the industry’s skills base.
As a statutory body charged with driving skills development in the insurance and related services sector, INSETA is uniquely positioned to improve the sector’s skills base.
INSETA represents the following sub-sectors within the insurance industry:
- Long-term insurance
- Short-term insurance
- Life insurance
- Insurance and pension funding
- Risk management
- Unit trusts (CIS)
- Administration of health insurance
- Funeral Insurance
- Reinsurance
- Pension funding
- Ancillary services
- Intermediary insurance
INSETA is a Schedule 3A public entity, which means it is an expansion of a public entity with the directive to fulfill a specific economic or social responsibility.
INSETA’s core divisions are as follows:
- The Skills Planning and Research Division – This division is responsible for determining skills demand and research. They are also responsible to ensure that all employers are compliant with the SDA (Skills Development Act).
- The Learning Division – As the name suggests, this division is responsible for all learning programmes and activities. These programmes are channeled into Unemployed Youth and Worker programs. This division specifically looks after the management of PIVOTAL programs.
- The Quality Assurance Division – This division is responsible for the accreditation of the institutions and providers who provide the skills development, the registration of assessors and moderators, the verification of learning, certification of learners as well as the development of occupational qualifications.
What is the function of INSETA?
The primary function of INSETA (Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority) is to develop critical and scarce skills in the insurance industry. These skills improve the quality of the industry while also supporting the transformation of the country.
The following skills are a priority within this industry and related services sector:
- Improve and speed up the employability potential of young adults
- Support the development of scarce and critical skills in the industry
- Improve and support the professionalism of the industry
- Support development initiatives in rural areas through partnership.
INSETA provides internships, skills programs, learnerships, and bursaries to a variety of employers within the insurance sector.
INSETA has 7 strategic goals, which are structured in 4 key program areas. The 4 areas are:
- Administration
- Skills Planning
- Learning Programmes
- Quality Assurance
Key Points under the INSETA mandate include:
- Support and the formation of partnerships
- Development of a Sector Skills Plan
- Improve information about placement opportunities, as well as between skills development providers and the labour market
- Ensure entrants into the labour market have access to employment-focused education and training opportunities
- Ensure that the education and training outcomes are equitable in terms of race, gender, disability and geographic location
INSETA accreditation
Accreditation is a quality assurance process where educational institutions or programs are evaluated by an external body. Their function is to verify whether the applicable training standards are being met by the training provider.
The accreditation of skills development providers is done by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO). The Skills program can be done by any accredited training institute – public or private.
INSETA works with the QCTO on the accreditation of training providers in the insurance and related services sector. Providers of occupational qualifications, part-qualifications and skills programmes are accredited by the QCTO, while INSETA’s accreditation of providers for legacy qualifications and unit standards registered on the NQF continues only until each qualification’s teach-out ends. INSETA describes itself as a delegated Quality Partner of the QCTO, under a service level agreement that runs from 2022 to 2030.
It is important that learners confirm that any course that claims to lead to a qualification is offered by a provider accredited for it: by the QCTO for occupational qualifications, part-qualifications and skills programmes.
The primary accreditation follows 9 steps in the following order:
Level 1: Accreditation Preliminary Criteria, which includes the compulsory reading of INSETA policies and guidelines
Level 2: QCTO Letter of Intent Request
Level 3: QCTO Referral Letter
Level 4: INSETA Primary Accreditation Application Pack
Level 5: Prescreening
Level 6: Provider Interview
Level 7: Desktop evaluation of the application
Level 8: Accreditation Site Visit
Level 9: Provisional Accreditation Awarded
INSETA funding
The Skills Development Act and the (SDL) Skills Development Levies Act direct the process for the collection of levies from employers. The overall objective of the Skills Development Act is to provide initiatives to make training more affordable to individuals.
SDL must be paid by employers who have been registered. An employer who has a salary bill of more than R500 000[1] is liable to pay SDL. 1% of the total amount that is paid in salaries should be paid[1], and the money is collected by SARS.
Once paid, levies are then distributed via INSETA. The Skills Development Act also provides the directive on how the funds allocated to each SETA should be spent.
In 2012[2], the revised Grant Regulations were released in order to regulate the percentages of the funds available for administration costs, regulate the portion of funds available for skills development as well as to improve the information that is received from the workforce through the WSP (Workplace Skills Plan), ATR (Annual Training Report) and PIVOTAL Training Reports. These reports provide important feedback on the skills needs and planning to meet these needs.
The Grant Regulations also promote PIVOTAL programs, which are registered on the NQF and quality assurance verified. These PIVOTAL programs focus specifically on scarce and critical skills needs in the industry. The Grant Regulations are widely cited as requiring 80% of discretionary funding to be assigned to PIVOTAL programs.
Employers that are compliant with the Levies Act may claim mandatory grants from INSETA granted they have submitted a WSP (Workplace Skills Plan), an ATR (Annual Training Report), and PIVOTAL Training Plan.[3]
Discretionary grants are additional funding that companies can apply for in addition to their mandatory grants. These are granted at the discretion of INSETA and are to be used to fund learnerships, apprenticeships, and strategic projects as identified from the workplace skills plan. 49.5% of the levies that employers pay must be allocated to discretionary grants.[3] The Grant Regulations are widely cited as requiring 80% of discretionary grants to go to PIVOTAL programs.
PIVOTAL programs are learning programs that support an occupational qualification or part qualification on the NQF.
INSETA funding focusses on:
- Learnerships
- Internships
- Bursaries for workers
- Skills programs
How do you get a SETA learnership?
A learnership is a structured program that offers a combination of theory and practical experience in the workplace that leads to an NQF-registered qualification.
A learnership is a great opportunity for matriculants to gain hands-on experience in the industry under the guidance of a mentor. All theory is taught in a classroom setting, and tuition costs are covered as part of the learnership programme. A monthly allowance or stipend is also payable to help with some of the student’s expenses.
The learners can gain hands-on experience, workplace experience, and skills training within the industry through a fixed-term contract between the learner, the employer, and the training provider. A learnership does not guarantee permanent employment but provides significant and useful experience to the learner.
The INSETA offers individuals across South Africa learnership opportunities via various companies in the insurance industry. The INSETA Learnership consists of theoretical and practical workplace training and experience of 1 500 training and learning hours. The qualification is registered on the NQF by SAQA.
The Medical Claims Assessing Learnership gives you data capturing training and learning opportunities. This can also give an individual a pathway for a job opportunity in Claims Assessing.
The requirements for qualifying for an INSETA learnership are:
Must be a South African citizen between 18 – 30 years old.
Candidates must have a recognized Matric/Grade 12 Certificate with English, Maths, and a 2nd Language. Minimum passing requirements apply.
Must be able to communicate effectively in English.
Must have basic computer skills and display high attention to detail.
Must not have completed a previous learnership, be formally employed, or be engaged in any post-school studies.
Documents to apply for an INSETA learnership are available here.
INSETA qualifications
An individual can work independently or for an insurance agency as an insurance broker. Clients can be individuals, businesses, or small to large organizations. To perform a role in this industry, an individual must have a qualification that is recognised by the Financial Services Board (FSB). It can be a general or specific qualification relevant to the category of Financial Services Practitioner (FSP) the individual wishes to be registered in.
An individual also needs to complete the Level 1 Regulator Examination (RE1) of the FSB as well as the certain modules at Level 2 (RE2). Once an individual has passed these exams, the FSB considers the individual “FAIS Fit and Proper” to fulfill their responsibilities and duties in the insurance industry.
A learnership makes it possible to enter this career path without a degree through various NQF Level 4 and 5 qualifications.
To qualify for the INSETA learnership, a student needs a minimum of matric with passes in English, Maths, and/or Maths literacy. Pass requirements do apply for each subject.
Any individual who provides financial consultancy must obtain a license to do so, as per the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act No. 37 (FAIS Act). The licensing process will be included as part of a candidates’ learnerships and internship programmes by most employees. This is important to note as individuals build on their insurance careers.
For an occupational qualification or part-qualification, the QCTO issues the Occupational Certificate once the learner has passed the External Integrated Summative Assessment (EISA); for a legacy qualification, INSETA provides certificates to the applicable Training Provider. It is the Training Provider’s responsibility to ensure that learners are issued with their certificates.
If a student decides to study at a tertiary institution, it’s important to note that each institution will have its own minimum entry requirements. Apart from English and Maths and/or Maths literacy, the following subjects can be beneficial:
Business Studies, Economics, Accounting, Maths as opposed to Maths literacy.
Most universities, TVET colleges, and private learning institutions offer suitable degrees and diplomas.
There are also some qualifications, mainly through TVET institutions, that require a student to have practical workplace experience before the qualification’s requirements are met. In this instance, a WBE (Work-based Experience Program) would be ideal for the student. The WBE can include visits to companies, job shadowing, and several other opportunities to increase exposure to different career options.
INSETA bursary
On 3 December 2012[2], the revised Grant Regulations were released, which impacted the allocation of SETA funding.
The INSETA has put together a Discretionary Grant Funding Policy that is based on the above revised Grant Regulations. The regulations are widely cited as requiring 80% of discretionary funding to be allocated to PIVOTAL programs, so this funding depends on the needs of critical and scarce skills in the industry.
If a company is paying its annual skills levy, they can access bursaries for staff. For unemployed individuals, they can access bursaries through the Public Higher Education Institutions through which they are registered for an NQF Level 1 – NQF Level 10.
Bursaries are only available to students who study through an Accredited Learning Provider and are valid for a maximum of 1 year.
Applications for bursaries that are available through INSETA are granted based on the needs of critical and scarce skills. Bursary funding is only allocated through funding timeframes that are opened at the discretion of INSETA. These funding windows are announced via the INSETA website.
INSETA supports both levy-paying and non-levy paying (exempt) employers who are confirmed to be registered at INSETA. Employers must submit their annual WSP/ATR and PIVOTAL reports as required to be eligible for bursary funding. Students must be employed by an INSETA registered employer within the insurance industry.
INSETA will advertise the opening of the bursary funding window on media and on INSETA website. The bursary applications must be submitted by a recognized SA Public Higher Education Institution. The list of students for whom the applications are being made, together with the courses they are studying, must accompany the bursary application.
Students must apply annually for a bursary fund.
Frequently asked questions
What does INSETA stand for, and what does it do?
INSETA is the Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority, one of South Africa’s 21 SETAs. It drives skills development in the insurance and related services sector, including long-term and short-term insurance, reinsurance, funeral insurance, pension funding, unit trusts and intermediaries. It funds learnerships, internships, skills programmes and bursaries, and it is a delegated Quality Partner of the QCTO under a 2022 to 2030 service level agreement.
How do I apply for an INSETA learnership?
INSETA offers learnerships through companies in the insurance industry, so you apply to the employer advertising the learnership. Requirements vary, but typical ones are South African citizenship, age 18 to 30, a matric with English and Maths, good English communication, basic computer skills, and not having completed a previous learnership or being formally employed or studying. A learnership leads to a qualification registered on the NQF.
Do INSETA learnerships pay a stipend?
Yes. A learnership covers the tuition costs, and a monthly allowance or stipend is paid to help learners with some of their expenses while they combine classroom theory with workplace experience under a fixed-term contract. Check the amount in the learnership advert before you apply. A learnership does not guarantee permanent employment, but it gives you recognised workplace experience.
Who can get an INSETA bursary?
INSETA bursaries for workers go to employees of INSETA-registered employers in the insurance industry, and the employer must have submitted its WSP, ATR and PIVOTAL reports. Unemployed students access bursaries through the public higher education institution where they are registered. Applications are made by the institution during funding windows that INSETA announces on its website, and bursaries last up to one year, so students apply annually.
Does INSETA fund skills programmes?
Yes. Skills programmes are one of INSETA’s funding priorities, alongside learnerships, internships and bursaries for workers. A skills programme is a shorter occupational programme that builds credits towards a full or part-qualification. Any accredited training provider, public or private, can offer one; for a QCTO skills programme the provider must be QCTO-accredited, and the programme ends in a Final Integrated Supervised Assessment.
INSETA’s mandatory grants and bursary funding depend on employers submitting their WSP, ATR and PIVOTAL reports on time. BOTI’s Skills Development Facilitator (SDF) Training Course is for the staff who prepare them. It runs in-house at your premises, at BOTI’s venue in Sunningdale, Johannesburg, or online, and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance.
Sources
- Skills Development Levy – South African Revenue Service (SARS), 2026.
- Grants Policy 2025/26 – merSETA, 2024.
- Mandatory Grants – Health and Welfare SETA (HWSETA), 2026.
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