What does SETA mean?
SETA is an acronym for Sector Education Training Authority. It is an educational body that regulates plans and oversees the training and skills deficiencies in the country. A SETA’s main objective is to advance and grow skills within a specific industry, identify the need for skills development in a specific industry, and ensure that national training standards are maintained.
SETAs develop sector skills plans that cover the entire economy, and they implement the plans by promoting and funding learnerships, apprenticeships, skills programs, bursaries, and internships. The SETA should also be monitoring and reporting on all training within the sector.
All SETAs must be accredited by SAQA (South African Qualifications Authority) as an ETQA (Education and Training Quality Assurance). It also evaluates and accredits training providers within its sector.
To achieve these objectives, the functions of a SETA include:
- Creating and implementing a plan on how to develop skills in an industry
- The promotion of learning programs and the set-up of such learner program agreements
- The responsibility of disbursing the levies that were collected from employers and their sectors
- Liaise with and support the NSA (National Skills Authority) in policy, strategy, and the sector skills plans.
There are currently 21 SETAs, each focused on a particular industry of the economy. They form the primary implementation structure of the NSDS (National Skills Development Strategy).
SETAs are established as public entities in terms of the PFMA (Public Finance Management Act). It means that they have an official board that determines strategy and implementation plans.
For more information on available SETA’s: visit the SAQA website
SETA Funding
How do I get funding from a SETA?
To grasp how SETA funding works, it’s essential to understand how the SETA generates its funds.
An SDL (Skills Development Levy) is a levy imposed to encourage learning and development in South Africa. An employer’s salary bill determines this levy. The funds are paid to SARS (South Africa Revenue Services) and are used to develop and improve employees’ skills. As an employer, you must pay the SDL every month if:
- Your company has registered employees with SARS for tax purposes
- Your company pays more than R500 000 a year in salaries and wages.
As an employer, if you submit a WSP (Workplace Skills Plan) and an Annual Training Report (ATR), then 20% of the levies you’ve paid will be paid as a mandatory grant towards your company. The work skills plan documents skills needs in an organisation and describes the range of skills development interventions that an organization will use to address these needs.
SETAs pay grants to employers as dictated by the SETA Grant Regulations.
Some of the grant conditions can include:
· an employer who employs 50 employees or more must submit an application for a WSP and an ATR, and
· that they must apply for a mandatory grant within 6 months of registration.
After receiving this grant, employers reinvest it to train their employees. The amount that they qualify for depends on the amount that they’ve contributed as a skills levy.
Discretionary grants are funds paid out at the discretion of SETA management. They are used for skills development projects that are linked to identified scarce and critical skills (sector priority occupations). Discretionary grant funding focuses on Professional, Vocational, Technical, and Academic Learning (PIVOTAL) programs.
How much does a SETA pay for a learnership?
A learnership is a structured training curriculum that includes theory and practice delivered in the workplace. The program usually lasts about 6 months to 18 months, and once complete, the learner is eligible for an NQF qualification after completion of the learnership. A learnership is outcomes-based, not time-based, and allows for recognition of prior learning.
There are several learnerships made available each year with minimum requirements to participate in a learnership.
The funding for a learnership is around R45 500. Learners are also paid a learner allowance (or stipend) by the employer. These allowances are only paid to unemployed learners for specific programs, and these allowances are also only available to learners that are registered and contracted to the Services SETA funded programme.
Individuals who enter a learnership do not have to pay anything for the program.
They could be part of the current workforce or new entrants into the workforce. An unemployed/pre-employed employee will be eligible for a trainee rumination, referred to as a stipend.
A full-time employee at the time of the start of the learnership, will still receive his/her current salary.
South African legislation sets the minimum for a student stipend, but employers can still decide the final amount and with how much they want to exceed it. It is up to the employer to determine how much they can afford.
It’s important to understand that stipends are not tied to the learner’s performance, as with a salary. Many companies offer stipends to assist learners with some expenses during the learnership, e.g., travel, housing, and food.
If you are unemployed at the start of the learnership, there is no guarantee that the same employer will have a job available at the end of the learnership. The employer is under no obligation to provide you with a full-time job at the conclusion of your learnership.
SETA Bursary
What does a Services Seta bursary cover?
There are various SETAs offering bursaries. The aim of these bursaries is to ensure an increase in the number of graduates in the scarce skills disciplines.
For the services SETA, bursaries are offered on the foundation of academic achievement. They must also prove that they are registered in a scarce skills discipline and that there is a financial need. Candidates are not guaranteed a specific employment contract. However, candidates need to sign an obligation to work in South Africa. Sometimes, they also need to sign that they will fulfill that obligation in a specific sector upon graduation.
SETA bursaries are for eligible South Africans who wish to further their studies and offer basic financial aid that helps a bursar pay for their basic needs.
Services SETA pays 100% tuition and books based on the approved amount. After that, subject to remaining available funds, if any, all other listed allowances are paid based on SETAs priority listing. Depending on the type of bursary, these costs might only be covered partially or in full.
There are different types of Services SETA bursaries available for South African citizens to study at a public institution in SA.
- Bursaries Employed: This is a grant that is awarded to learners who are employed and are enrolled in part qualifications or full qualifications.
- Bursaries Unemployed: A grant awarded to learners who were unemployed previously, who are enrolled for part-time qualifications or full qualifications. These qualifications must be registered on the NQF level 5 or higher.
The focus of the bursary funding is to make sure that there is a continuous flow of high-quality skills into the labour market of the services sector that is sustainable. The bursary is administered and regulated via a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the institution of higher learning and the Services SETA.
SETA funding for small businesses
An SME will be able to apply for a discretionary grant (DG) funding once they started to participate in skills development through participation in the skills levy.
Discretionary grants are available for the following interventions:
- Learnerships, which can provide the opportunity for a qualification or a part qualification.
- Apprenticeships,
- Internships, which may be a requirement because of a graduate qualification, or for in-service training that will allow the learner to obtain an academic qualification.
- Bursaries, which cover the costs based on the bursary terms and conditions.
- Adult basic education and training (ABET). This is the equivalent of literacy and numeracy to primary education levels.
The small business can consider which of the above interventions they will be able to implement to support their employees’ development and which one of these will benefit company performance.
In the case of an internship discretionary grant, the grant can fund the student’s stipend/allowance as well.
Procedures in each SETA may differ, so it’s essential to understand the requirements for each SETA.
There are different documentation requirements for each. Once accepted by the SETA, the funding will be fully documented with contracts and supporting certificates, such as learner identity and previous qualifications. While formal bursary studies may lead to academic qualifications, most qualifications that are covered by the SETA funding are job-specific qualifications.
It is important that SMEs interact with the SETA staff for their industry. They can assist in identifying what qualifications exist in the sector and which qualifications might best benefit their business through the improvement of employee skills, knowledge, and development.
There are also additional tax benefits that SMEs have access to. Full details are available on the South African Revenue Services (SARS) website. There is a tax relief benefit both at the start of the learnership and at the conclusion of the learnership. In the case of tax relief, apprenticeships are defined under Learnerships and, therefore, also qualify for tax relief.
A further tax relief is the Employment Tax Incentive (ETI), details of which are available here.
This incentive is specifically intended to support the employment of young people, who currently have the highest unemployment rate.
How to apply for SETA stipend
A stipend, also known as an allowance, is a monthly payment to learners who are undergoing certain training programs during their employment.
South Africa legislation sets the minimum for a student stipend, but employers can still decide the final amount and with how much they want to exceed it. It is up to the employer to determine how much they can afford.
It’s important to understand that stipends are not tied to the learner’s performance, as with a salary. Many companies offer stipends to assist learners with some expenses during the learnership, e.g., travel, housing, and food.
Any person – employed or unemployed – can participate in a learning program.
A stipend/allowance is only paid to learners that are registered and contracted to the SETA funded programme.
Types of SETA grants
To understand how SETA grants work, it’s essential to know how the SETA generates its funds.
An SDL (Skills Development Levy) is a levy that is enforced to encourage a learning and development culture in the workplace. This levy is determined by an employer’s entire salary bill for the company. An employer is required to pay the SDL every month if:
- Your company has registered employees with SARS for tax purposes
- Your company pays more than R500 000 a year in salaries and wages. This includes wages for:
- overtime
- leave pay
- bonuses
- commissions
- lump-sum payments
An employer must submit a WSP (Workplace Skills Plan) and an Annual Training Report (ATR) to be legible for the grants that are available from the skills levy. In which case, 20% of the levies you’ve paid will be paid as a mandatory grant towards your company. The work skills plan documents the skills that are needed in an organisation. It also describes the range of actions an organization will take to address their specific skills developmental needs.
SETAs pay grants to employers as dictated by the SETA Grant Regulations.
A SETA only pays out the employer’s grant if the eligibility criteria are met. This includes:
· The employer must be registered in terms of the SDLA
· The employer must have met all their payment obligations in terms of the SDLA
· All levies due to SARS must be up to date
· And the WSP, ATR, and the PIVOTAL Training Plan must be submitted by the deadline.
There are two main categories of grants that are available:
Mandatory
The mandatory grant is paid directly to the employer and is 20% of their 1% skills levy. If all levy payments were made and all plans were submitted, the employer is legible to receive their mandatory SETA grant.
Discretionary
The discretionary grant is a grant that’s paid out at the discretion of the SETA. This grant aims to focus on scarce and critical skills’ needs in the workplace and forms part of the PIVOTAL training program. These programs include integrated learning in the workplace.
For an employer to be legible for a discretionary grant, they must complete their PIVOTAL training plan and report.
After receiving this grant from the skills levy fund, employers reinvest it to train their employees. The amount that they qualify for will depend on the amount that they have contributed as a skills levy.
There are also discretionary grants that are paid out by each SETA, which is precisely that. They are paid out at the discretion of the particular SETA. The majority of these funds are channeled towards PIVOTAL training programmes, which include scarce and critical skills.
SETA funding for students
There are various SETAs that do help students to obtain bursaries. The main focus is to increase the number of graduates in scarce and critical skills disciplines.
These bursaries are offered based on academic performance and the student must be able to provide proof of registration and that there is a financial need.
There is no guarantee that the student will have a job once they have obtained their qualification, sot the bursary does not come with a job placement guarantee. However, candidates are required to sign a contract that they will work in South Africa for a period within the specific sector after graduation.
These bursaries do not provide opportunities for learnerships or apprenticeships. They purely provide funding to the learner.
If students want to study at a higher education institute like a college or a university, the Services SETA bursary fund provides support in this regard.
This money is funded by the employer’s skills levy as well as the government.
The services sector has been expanding rapidly in the last few years in South Africa and is an excellent option for young people. They also provide funding for young students to become artisans.
You can get a bursary for studies from the Services SETA. Fields of study:
- All qualifications in the services sector
- Scarce and critical skills in other sectors
- Artisanal qualifications in any field or trade
Bursaries are open to:
- Employed and unemployed applicants who are registered towards undergraduate or postgraduate qualifications
- Applicants who are SA citizens, with a valid identity document
Only online applications are considered.
Services SETA Discretionary bursary funding is divided between employed and unemployed learners.
Who qualifies for a bursary?
- A student who is currently registered with a South Africa TVET College, any public university and/or a university of technology
- Valid SA ID document
- An applicant who is not a recipient of other sources of funding.
Preference may be given to
- People with disabilities
- Previously disadvantage individuals
- Scarce and critical skills
Services SETA 2020
The Services SETA was established in March 2000 as per the Skills Development Act of 1998.
The primary function of the services SETA is to facilitate skills development by providing learner programs such as:
- Learnerships
- Skills programs
- Internships
- Other strategic learning initiatives
The Services SETA is also tasked with ensuring the quality of job-specific training within the services sector under the supervision of the QCTO.
One of the objectives of the Services SETA is to bridge the gap between formal education in an institution and skills that are required to do the job within the workplace. The services SETA works in partnership with private and public learning facilities that are accredited to deliver the training on their behalf.
By achieving a balance between skills demand and supply, the Services SETA helps to improve industry skills and ensures that training and development:
- Is provided subject to quality review and validation
- Meets the required standards within the NQF
- Make sure that new employees that enter the labour market are adequately trained
- And recognize and improve the skills of the current labour market.
The Services SETA is the biggest SETA and includes 70 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Codes that are grouped into the following 16 sub-sectors:
- Cleaning and Hiring Services
- Communications and Marketing Services
- Labour and Collective Services
- Management and Business Services
- Personal Care Services
- Real Estate and Related Services
Developing occupational standards as well as qualifications, is currently one of the Services SETA’s priorities. This will enable stakeholders to respond to the country’s skills development priorities that have been identified, which in turn supports the labour market needs.
Current learning programs that are provided by the Services SETA includes:
Candidacies – a period of on-the-job training for a graduate as part of their requirement for registration as a professional with a professional body.
Learnerships – this is an on the job learning that can give a learner a qualification or part qualification.
Adult Education and Training – AET provides ABET levels 1-3
Skills Programs – these programs provide employed individuals with bridging programs to obtain a full qualification.
Internships – is an on-the-job skills program that is required to obtain a diploma, certificate, or professional qualification.
Artisan Development Programs – this is a formal on the job training that includes specific experience for a listed trade.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) – this is a process where formal and informal prior training is assessed and evaluated for requirements of prior learning.
Apprenticeships – on the job learning that provides practitioners a license to practice in their particular field.
Bursaries – financial support offered to learners to complete a qualification.
