In recognition of the fact that businesses play a crucial role in fostering skill development in the workplace, the Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) was established.
It is a project of the government's National Skills Development Strategy, which seeks to drastically change South African education and training while enhancing business competitiveness.
South Africa has approximately 23 SETAs and each one has the responsibility to identify skills requirements and ensure that those skills are readily available.
SETA has funding in the form of grants that is available to employers and training providers in South Africa.
The main aim of this funding is to establish SETA learning programmes that raise the skills of employees and job seekers in their respective industries.
SETA has the following grants available:
- Mandatory grants – Mandatory Grants are paid by the relevant SETA to companies who are eligible to receive funding. They are calculated at 20% of an employer’s 1% skills levy.
- Discretionary Grants – The remaining 80% of the Skills Development Levy (SDL) is awarded to employers at the discretion of the SETAs. Employers need to apply for this funding through the relevant channels with their respective SETA.
Both grants get paid to the employers in cash which gets transferred to their accounts and is dependent on the amount that they’ve contributed as a skills levy.
SETA pays the SDL levy to the South Africa Revenue Services to encourage learning and development.
Employers ought to pay the levy if they have registered employees with SARS or pay more than R500 000 a year in salaries and wages.
If an employer submits a Workplace Skills Plan and Annual Training Report (ATR), 20% of the levies will be paid as a mandatory grant to the company.
What’s The Importance Of Professional Development In The Workplace?
Upskilling is essential in a workplace as it enables employees to acquire new skills, knowledge, and expertise to perform their job more efficiently and effectively.
This will improve productivity, better job satisfaction, and higher employee retention rates in a company.
Professional development benefits businesses in keeping up with the latest industry trends, technologies, and regulations, making them more competitive and profitable in the long run.
