Ministerial Task Team briefing on the performance of the SETAs

Meeting report

Briefing by the Ministerial Task Team on SETA Performance
Mr Fikile Majola, Chairperson of the Ministerial Task Team (MTT) on the Skills Education Training Authorities (SETAs), briefed the Committee on the performance of the SETAs. The SETAs had been transferred to the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) in November 2009. The skills development framework had been in existence since 2000. There was consensus that SETAs had thus far performed at a less than satisfactory level and more should be done to improve their performance.

The MTT had been established in an effort to improve SETAs. The role of the SETAs was to play a complementary role in strengthening the work done by DHET in governance structures and improving the performance of the SETAs. The MTT would further work to review the funding model for skills development, recommend systems to be used in improving financial management and accountability, make recommendations on the delivery of quality skills plans and make recommendations on ensuring compliance with the statutory requirements.

The MTT would ultimately provide a report to the Minister, by the end of July 2011, in which information on the highlighted issues was documented with recommendations that could assist DHET in ensuring improved performance of SETAs in the short, medium and long-term.

The Task Team held meetings on a fortnightly basis and had held three such meetings thus far. The MTT had established three sub-committees to deal with specific tasks; these sub-committees would be the Skills Planning and Delivery sub-committee, the Financial Management and Funding Model sub-committee and the Governance and Compliance sub-committee. The first sub-committee would aim to review current planning processes and make recommendations where necessary to improve those processes. The sub-committee would further review the legal scope of SETAs, consider the functions that should remain and compare SETA targets against priorities. This would be in accordance with the two objectives of that sub-committee namely to make recommendations on the quality of skills plans and to assess the performance of the delivery of SETAs.

The Governance and Compliance sub-committee would seek to improve strategic oversight and planning, oversee strategy, planning, monitoring and evaluation of SETAs and guiding annual SETA planning. The sub-committee would further seek to establish a culture of cross-SETA co-ordination, co-operation, monitoring and evaluation. In attempting to achieve its set targets, the sub-committee would assess the efficacy and efficiency of current governance structures. It would assess the efficacy and efficiency of systems and processes for compliance such as Service Level Agreements and sector Skills Planning processes and it would simplify systems and procedures to expedite execution.

The Financial Management and Funding Model sub-committee would determine and analyse current funding processes and methodology applicable to SETAs. It would review the SETAs compliance with existent legislation and scrutinise the dissemination of funds relative to size and economic place of sectors. It would analyse SETA budgeting processes, financial management, SETA projects and their conduction, analyse representative skills funding systems outside South Africa and ultimately produce a future scenario development.

Discussion
Mr A van der Westhuizen (DA) asked whether the guidelines by which SETAs were run were available to the public. He asked whether there were timelines that outlined the transition of a project from its conception to support from a SETA. He commented that the costs of training in SETAs needed to be lowered. There needed to be independent assessment of SETA projects and their successfulness. A consistent message on the major focus of the SETAs needed to be outlined so that goals could be achieved. The SETA targets needed to be set to a higher level. 
Mr Majola acknowledged the comments and suggestions made by Mr van der Westhuizen and said that the MTT would keep them in mind. The additional information sought would be provided to the Committee.
Mr S Makhubule (ANC) asked three questions. Firstly, he asked where the MTT members came from and what experience they had. Secondly, he enquired whether the MTT was looking into implementing the National Skills Development Skills programme 4. Thirdly, he asked whether the SETAs had made a tangible impact since their establishment.

Mr Majola replied that the MTT would work with the DHET to ensure that the information regarding members of the MTT was made available to the Committee. An assessment on the impact of the SETAs could only be made after the MTT had completed its report on the work of the SETAs. That report would detail recommendations which would assist the SETAs in conducting their work. The MTT was also focused on how to ensure that SETAs were responsible for skills which were relevant and able to withstand evolutionary changes.

Ms W Nelson (ANC) suggested the MTT look into how to encourage training institutions that trained individuals to take those individuals on a full time basis once their training was complete.

Mr Majola acknowledged the suggestion and gave an assurance that the MTT would take account of it in its work in the future.

Ms N Gina (ANC) asked why there were MTT members absent from the meeting and what excuse they had for being absent. She asked whether the MTT thought that it would have completed the bulk of its work successfully by the end of July as it had been mandated to do. In addition, she asked how reliable the SETA reports on its delivery rate were and whether there was impact being made at a ground level. Lastly, she highlighted the management of boards in the SETAs and commented that legislation needed to be created to regulate how the boards were managed.

Mr Majola replied that some of the MTTs members were out of the country attending conferences relevant to their specific SETAs, further apologies had been forwarded to the DHET. The MTT would be able to produce its report by the end of July as planned. The report would outline the reliability of SETA delivery and the rate thereof.

Ms N Magazi (ANC) asked what progress the MTT had made in preparing its assessment report which was due at the end of July.

Mr Majola replied that the MTT was in the process of gathering information on areas which it had yet to assess but that the process would be completed soon and would culminate in a complete report to be released by the end of July as planned.

Mr C Moni (ANC) commented that the MTT should look into developing strategies that focused on retaining skilled people in skilled professions. 

Mr Majola replied that skills were critical in certain parts of the economy and part of the MTTs work would look into how to improve the retention of skilled people. The MTT was also focused on how to ensure that SETAs were responsible for skills which were relevant and able to withstand evolutionary changes. 

The Chairperson emphasised the importance of Service Level Agreements with regards to SETAs and the need for them to be enforced and properly outlined. More needed to be done to find employment for final year students at Universities and Further Education Training (FET) Centres.  

The meeting was adjourned.