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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO.: 1097
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 4 SEPTEMBER 2009
Dr P J Rabie (DA) to ask the Minister of Economic Development:
(1) (a) Which Sector Education and Training Authorities (Seta) will be
involved in the layoff training scheme in terms of the State response
to the economic crisis, (b) how much funds will be allocated to each
Seta and (c) on what basis will the funds be apportioned to each Seta;
(2) whether his department has an estimate of the number of workers (a)
whoâs employment will be terminated and/or suspended as at 1 September
2009 to 31 December 2010 and (b) who will receive training in each
quarter during the abovementioned period; if not, why not; if so, what
are the relevant details;
(3) whether his department has formulated any syllabus for each Seta for
the training programmes; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant
details? NW1358E
REPLY
(1) (a) The training layoff scheme applies to the whole economy and thus
all SETAs are expected to be involved in the training layoff scheme.
(b) The amount of money that the Department of Labour will allocate to
each SETA from the R2,4 billion will depend on the size of the
affected company workforce to be enrolled in the training layoff, the
amount that the SETA has allocated for the training cost, and the Work
place Grant that the employer is likely to claim from a SETA.
(c) The UIF/NSF Jobs fund committee will meet every Wednesday to
consider applications received from the CCMA of companies certified to
be in distress and applications from each SETA, to undertake
comparisons across SETAs on the funds requested and to recommend
allocation if the applications meets the requirements. The SETA will
in turn be expected to conclude individual agreements with each
company in the various work places.
(2) The number of workers who will enroll in the training layoff scheme
will be determined by the rate of applications. The figures will be
monitored regularly and will be made public.
(3) Government has left discretion on the training courses and outcomes
unit standards to employers and trade unions to finalise on the basis
that parties at a decentralized level would be best places in these
circumstances to identify the skills that would be required. Three
broad guidelines have been developed. First, the skills should be
appropriate to the needs of the company and sector from where the
participating workers are drawn and training should be designed to
provide for âportabilityâ of skills. Second, generic skills should be
encouraged, such as communication and problem-solving. This guideline
also covers adult basic education and training which includes literacy
and numeracy skills. Third, workers should wherever possible be
exposed to information and communication technology (ICT) skills.