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The Sector Education and Training Authority, SETA, is a South African institution charged with the responsibility for developing skills development and training within a specific industry sector. This institution is a program of the National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS), and various SETAs were put in place for several industry sectors according to the Skills Development Act 97 of 1998.
The Safety and Security Sector Education and Training Authority (SASSETA) is accountable for the South African environment’s security and safety with the aid of skills development and qualifications.
It is a SETA that has been established to specifically aid education and training to the wide span of safety and security providers and services in South Africa. These spans across the diplomatic arena to the military and police. It upholds a tradition of ongoing learning and creates chances for skills transfer for all South Africans looking for recognized industry qualifications. The Safety and Security Sector Education and Training Authority (SASSETA) is supervised by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET).
The SASSETA was set up in July 2005, five years after South Africa’s first set of SETAs were launched. It is a merger between the Diplomacy, Intelligence, Defence and Trade Education and Training Authority (DIDTETA), and the Police, Legal, Correctional Services, Private Security, and Justice Sector Educational and Training Authority (POSLEC SETA).
The DIDTETA and POSLEC SETA were founded on March 20, 2000 by the Skills Development Act announced by the South African Parliament in 1998. This means that the roles of these two SETAs were largely to develop and enhance the skills of the South African workforce generally in systems outlined in the new legislation (1998).
SETAs were provided with basic guidelines on how to do this. They were expected to map out and carry out attainable sector skills plans, provide employers, trainers, and workers with the required funds and promote effective learnerships– per the legislation. When the Local Government SETA was created in 2000, it concentrated on many areas, including financial viability, infrastructure and service delivery, community-based participation and planning, adult-based education and training (ABET), and management and leadership. Within this scope of operation, metro policing and traffic law enforcement were also the responsibility of the LGSETA. These roles were transferred to the SASSETA.
It was reasonable then that the requirements of those getting into the SASSETA sector or gaining more experience within the sector -are immensely diverse, and all of these considerations should be taken into account. For instance, a few of the employment opportunities within this sector entails learners to take college courses. At the same time, other possibilities allow them to get away with a short course of some sort to make an entrance into the industry.
Somebody wanting to climb through the ranks of management might wish to take a management course, but they will usually need assistance and advice to pick a good accredited course to accomplish their goals. Other learners might want workplace experience before deciding whether this specific sector is the best for them.
There are experts in the SASSETA who can proffer excellent advice. They also inform learners whether internships, bursaries, discretionary grants, or apprenticeships are available in various sub-sectors they might apply for.
Functions of SASSETA
According to the South African Government’s plan of action, the SASSETA is mandated to draft a plan that will empower them to develop the security and safety skills to enable learners to benefit from these. They want to facilitate an increased number of young adults who can learn new skills and earn a living within the safety and security sector.
For this purpose, the SASSETA is also expected to carry out an extensive plan that accommodates learners joining the safety and security workplace have the chance to:
- establish strategies for workplace skills so that learners understand exactly where they can gain suitable workplace experience
- access learnerships and courses where they can obtain the basic knowledge through college courses or any other short course the SETA regards as relevant
- monitor education training to guarantee that learners are accurately and well trained
- allot discretionary grants and perhaps also bursaries
- help improve and facilitate learnership agreements and register these agreements for learners’ security
- identify workplaces that are fit for learners to employ to get a suitable workplace exposure
- make sure that they (SASSETA) obtain accreditation from the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) to guarantee that all learning is appropriate and tallies with the standards expected within South Africa
- promote the development of learning materials to make sure that learners are reading important topics
- get and then accurately pay the levies due for skills development in this sector.
- partner with the National Skills Authority concerning the Government’s national skills development policy
- select staff who can meet these obligations
- help advance and facilitate learnership agreements and register these agreements for learner security
- communicate directly with the Government’s Director-General of Labour concerning income and expenditure, including the implementation of the sector skills plan
- partner with the National Skills Authority concerning the Government’s national skills development strategy and its sector skills plan
- partner with the Department of Labour’s employment services, including all educational bodies that are governed by laws that correlate to education in South Africa aimed at enhancing employment openings for these particular learners
- execute any other obligations that the Skills Development Act and the Skills Development Levies Act demands
NQFs, which have been indispensable elements of the South Africa tertiary education system for nearly 25 years, is overseen and performed by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). This overall higher education system has been commissioned to enroll in quality-assured national qualifications and part- qualifications. The framework’s major goals are to expedite high-quality education and training and add positively to the learner’s overall development.
SETAs are established by the Act of parliament and consequently execute their duties in the public’s interest. As legal bodies, they manage public funds. They are obliged to relate to the Department of Higher Education and Training on these funds’ efficient and precise use. The Public Finance Management Act also oversees SETAs, and this Act demands that public bodies act responsibly and economically. SETAs also account to the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) on how they carry out their functions as an Educational Training and Quality Assurance (ETQA) body.
SASSETA Accreditation
The SASSETA is responsible for accrediting providers. They do these by:
- establishing appropriate guidelines for the accreditation of providers.
- Accrediting solely constituent providers that share the principal focus of the SASSETA.
- Administering accreditation for unit standards and qualifications listed on the NQF, which fall within the principal focus of the SASSETA.
- Handling institutional accreditation as well as program registration for constituent providers.
- Conducting complete program approval and registration for non-constituent providers.
- Accrediting performance and assessment sites.
There are two types of accreditation providers, namely Constituent Providers and Non-constituent providers. The constituent providers are single-purpose training providers who prefer to operate within the principal focus of the SASSETA, while the non-constituent providers are training Providers who are accredited with a different ETQA and would wish to incorporate training on learning programs that lie within the scope of the SASSETA.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) explains assessing the knowledge, skills, and capability held by a person, irrespective of when, how, and where the learning took place. The assessment is done outside of a formal learning program and may take on experiential and other evidence forms. RPL enables a person to get a qualification based on assessing the work experience and past training, whether attained formally or informally. A learner who believes that they already have extensive experience in a particular occupation can follow the Recognition of Prior Learning path. In this instance, a learner would identify the qualification that best suits their experience and then be assessed by an accredited education and training provider according to the qualification requirements. This will identify gaps in their experience, which they can address through credit-bearing skills programs to qualify.
There are two types of accreditation providers, namely Constituent Providers and Non-constituent providers. The constituent providers are single-purpose training providers who prefer to operate within the principal focus of the SASSETA, while the non-constituent providers are training Providers who are accredited with a different ETQA and would wish to incorporate training on learning programs that lie within the scope of the SASSETA.
Applicants who meet all the criteria set will earn full accreditation for three years. Accreditation will be connected to the programs (qualifications and unit standards) that the provider will offer. On the other hand, applicants who meet the minimum criteria set will obtain full accreditation for one year. Accreditation will be connected to the programs (qualifications and unit standards) that the provider will offer. Monitoring and verification will occur within this period, and if compliant, the accreditation will be extended for three years. Should a constituent of a non-constituent provider need to render additional qualifications and unit standards, a request for an extension of their scope should be completed.
SASSETA Funding
Funding for SASSETA is generated from the skills development levy, which is collected from employers in the safety and security sector. Employers are obliged to pay one percent of their earnings every month to the South African Revenue Services (SARS). Generated funds are utilized to cover administrative costs and grants. Administrative costs involve those incurred from the day-to-day operations of running the body. Ten percent of the levy used for SASSETA is allocated to these expenses. The other part of the levy is used for mandatory and discretionary grants.
The mandatory grants are designed to cover education and training programs as outlined in the Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) and Annual Training Report (ATR). The mandatory grants enable employers to organise and implement training programs for their employees and help provide useful information about the labour market in terms of scarce skills and current trends.
Certain criteria must be met by employers before they can receive mandatory grants, and these include:
- Employers must be registered with the commissioner of SARS.
- Employers must have paid all past levies at the time of approval.
- Employers must provide signed off evidence of consultant with organised labour where applicable
- Employers must have submitted the WSP and ATR to contribute to the SASSETA Sector Skills Plan (SSP)
- Employers must pay levies to the commissioner within the stipulated time
- Employers should make their first submission within six months of registering with SARS
- Employers must ensure that they have been paying levies to the appropriate SETA
- Employers must submit all necessary documents before the due dates.
Mandatory grants are paid every quarter to the companies. However, mandatory grants that are not claimed before August every year be transferred to discretionary grant funding.
The SASSETA approves a discretionary grant policy every year, according to the SETA grant regulations. This policy will direct the allocation of funds, considering the various plans and programs that the funds could support. These plans and programs include:
- Professional, vocational, technical, and academic learning (PIVOTAL) programs
- Scarce skills outlined in the SSP
- Bursaries for employees and those who are unemployed
- National Skills Development Strategies (NSDS) III initiatives
- The annual performance plan
- Trade Unions and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
- National Skills Priorities
To access discretionary grants, employers must also meet the following criteria;
- Employers must have submitted their WSP and ATR at the time of approval
- Private training providers must be accredited (where training providers are involved)
- Employers must be within the jurisdiction of the SASSETA, i.e.; employers must work in the safety and security sector
- Employers must be up to date with levy payments except those who are formally exempted
- Unemployed learners qualify for bursaries and specified programs
- Only businesses with less than fifty employees can fill the PIVOTAL plan template as seen on the SASSETA website
- Trade Unions and NGOs must be registered
The following are details of the application process:
- Applicants should completely fill the application forms while adhering to the discretionary grants policy. There are different forms for private employers, public employers, training providers, and unemployed learners.
- Documents detailing company’s registration must be submitted
- Proof of registration under professional bodies must be submitted
- Evidence of payment of skills development levy or proof of exemption or proof of registration with SARS
- Details of assessor and moderator for the particular qualification must also be submitted.
How do you get a SETA Learnership?
A learnership, which is one of the non-PIVOTAL programs, refers to the structured learning process that helps learners gain educational knowledge and practical skills in the workplace. This is one of the opportunities which the SETAs, including SASSETA, offers students. A learnership gives students access to qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). These structured learning processes operate on an outcome-based system and acknowledges the need for prior learning. The duration of learnerships vary but generally last for 18 months. Learners must complete four different learnerships in order to attain an artisan equivalent qualification (NQF level 4). This means that qualifications at NQF levels 1, 2, 3, and 4 must be achieved for this to be attained.
Learners must meet certain conditions before commencing a SETA learnership, and these include:
- Learners can be existing employees or new entrants.
- Learners must meet the required selection criteria determined by the organisation taking on the learner.
- Learners must meet entry requirements for the specific learnership they wish to enroll in as determined by the specific qualification requirements on which the learnership process is based.
To obtain learnerships, there are specific outlined step-by-step processes that employers, training providers, and other learners to be followed and these include:
- Employers are workplace approved and are obliged to meet the pre-registration criteria.
- Qualified assessors are available. They may be either in-house assessors or contracted assessors.
- Training providers are accredited to provide the particular learnership by the ETQA.
- Companies advertise learnership opportunities through the media.
- A tripartite learnership agreement is signed among the employer, provider, and learner.
- Learners apply and are selected by the company recruitment process.
- A Short-term employment contract is signed and entered into between the employer and the learner, assuming the learner is unemployed.
- The learning programme and process are discussed and agreed to with the training provider.
- Employers fund the learnership through grants obtained from SETA.
- Employers and training providers deliver relevant learning and experience, working closely together to manage the training process.
- Learners are provided with support through mentoring and feedback.
- Learners are assessed by qualified assessors (formative and summative assessments)
- The SASSETA quality assuror is called to moderate the assessment. Internal moderation should be carried out by the provider.
- A national qualification is then awarded to the learner after successful completion of the learnership.
- Learners receive a statement of results for unit standards achieved if learnership is not successfully completed.
- On completion of learnership is completed, the employer may sign the learner on for a new learnership or employ the learner. The employer can also choose to release the learner for future employment by another organization if the learner was originally unemployed.
SASSETA also facilitates the recruitment of learners and the implementation of learnerships. They subsidise the provision of education and training by accredited training providers. They can subsidise the learners’ allowances, but they do not create the learnerships themselves or provide these learnerships directly.
For many learnership programmes, the interested learner must be of minimum working age, which is 15 years, as stipulated by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. For other programmes, a Grade 12 certificate is sufficient. There are numerous benefits for learners who participate in a learnership program. These programs provide accessible opportunities for affordable learning and more career options for learners. There also enjoy more employment opportunities as a result of the work experience they have gathered and people within their network.
SASSETA Qualifications
The SASSETA qualifications are managed by the National Qualifications Framework (NQF), the Skills Development Act, and the Quality Council for Trade and Occupations (QCTO). The QCTO manages occupational qualifications and oversees the development of new ones. The QCTO also replaced legacy qualifications given to training providers by SETAs with occupational qualifications. The Council is also responsible for de-registering qualifications with no learner intake over some time.
The is a revised quality assurance framework for the SASSETA where the QCTO oversees all quality assurance functions while the Development Quality Partner (DQP) and Assessment Quality Partner (AQP) oversee the development and restructuring of professional qualifications and register moderators and assessors, respectively. SASSETA qualifications are developed and restructured from time to time following step by step processes. Member organizations of SASSETA and other stakeholders tender a request to develop a new qualification or restructuring of existing qualifications to the SASSETA. The SASSETA submits this to the QCTO. After these steps, the bodies sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), and SASSETA appoints the QDP. The SASSETA manages the restructuring of qualifications sends to the QCTO for approval.
SASSETA Registered Learnerships and Qualifications
| Title of Learnership or Qualification | NQF Level |
| Law Enforcement | 5 |
| National Diploma: Joint and Multi-operations | 6 |
| Close Protection Specialist | 4 |
| Specialist Security Practices | 4 |
| Further Education and Training Certificate | 4 |
| Aviation Security Specialist | 4 |
| FETC: Road Traffic Law Enforcement | 4 |
| National Certificate: Forensic Science | 5 |
| Human Resources Management and Practices | 5 |
| Human Resources Management and Practices Support | 4 |
| National Certificate: Criminology | 5 |
| National Certificate: Family Law | 5 |
| Further Education and Training Certificate: Firearms Maintenance | 4 |
| Further Education and Training Certificate: Use of Firearms | 4 |
| Post-graduate Certificate: Trade-Mark Practise | 7 |
| General Security Officer’s Learnership | 3 |
| FETC: Road Traffic Law Enforcement | 4 |
| National Certificate: Road Safety Development | 5 |
| Electronic Security Technician | 4 |
| Corrections Science | 4 |
| National Diploma: Legal Interpreting | 5 |
| National Certificate: Multi-national Safety and Security Operations Management | 5 |
| National Certificate: Paralegal Practice | 5 |
| Diploma in Court Services Management | 5 |
| Attorneys Practice | 7 |
| Basic Policing Training | 7 |
| National Certificate: Resolving of Crime | 5 |
SASSETA Bursary
SASSETA provides bursary students who are eligible and interested in working in the Safety and Security sectors. Bursaries cover tuition, feeding, accommodation, textbooks, and related costs. SASSETA funds successful candidates with bursaries worth over R70,000, and candidates with debt from the previous academic year are considered when they are awarded the bursary. SASSETA evaluates students at different levels of studies to award eligible students with bursaries generated from discretionary grants.
For students to benefit from this bursary, they do not necessarily need to be academically sound but need to pass a “means test.” This test involves the level of family income and a bit of academic knowledge. Students may be awarded a bursary in addition to a scholarship if they can provide proof of financial need. It is customary for the school bursar to request that parents fill an application form, giving details on their financial situation, supported by evidence in documents, including assets to obtain such a bursary. The school will review the application according to its bursary policy. Most times, the award will remain in effect until the student sits for the next public examination. Many schools reassess bursaries every year to ensure quality that the grounds upon which the student received the bursary remain.
Application Criteria for interested candidates:
- Must be approved and registered to study in a particular academic year.
- Must be a South African citizen.
- Must be unemployed.
- Must be studying at a Public tertiary institution or university of technology in South Africa.
- Must have completed qualifications for the previous year and awaiting results to graduate.
- Must be between 18 and 35 years.
Approved Fields of Study for the SASSETA bursary reflect the integrated nature of the body includes:
- Public Administration
- Internal auditing
- Law
- Social Work
- Psychology
- Nursing
- Civil Engineering
- Pharmacy
- Electrical Engineering
Interested candidates are required to send the following documents to be considered for the bursary:
- A filled application form.
- Evidence of Registration as a final year student.
- Student account from the university.
- Record of the previous academic year.
- Certified copy of ID document.
- Tax Clearance Certificate.
- Tax Compliance Status Verification PIN.
These documents are to be sent to [email protected].