Progress in Transferring Skills Development to the Department of Higher Education and Training and Transitional Arrangements

1
Progress in Transferring Skills Development to
the Department of Higher Education and Training
and Transitional Arrangements

• Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Higher
  Education and Training,
• 16th September 2009

2
Structure of Presentation (1)

• The Context
• Creating a new Department of Higher Education and
  Training
• Legal establishment and legal mandate
• Institutions for which the DHET is responsible
• Administrative Transition
• Managing the transition phase administrative and
  financial
• Scope of DHET
• DHET and the Medium Term Strategic Framework and
  Programme of Action

3
Structure of Presentation (2)

• Skills Transition
• Legal responsibility 1st November
• Financial responsibility 1st April
• Immediate Tasks for Minister
• Strengthening relationships with key
  stakeholders
• Clarifying overarching skills strategies
• Strengthening the NSA to
• Review NSDSIII
• Review the recommendations on the SETA Landscape

4
Creating a New Department

1. Legal establishment and legal mandate
2. Institutions for which the DHET is responsible
3. Administrative Transition
4. Managing the transition phase administrative and
   financial

5
LEGAL ESTABLISHMENT(1)

• Proclamations
• Promulgation of department
• The Dept of HET was established by Presidential
  Proclamation No. 48 of 2009, Govt Gazette No.
  32387 of 7 July 2009
• The new Department of HET formed through
• a split of the DoE to the DHET and DBE
• incorporating the Skills Development functions of
  the Department of Labour

6
LEGAL MANDATE (1)

• Proclamations
• Re-Assigning of Legislation
• Ministry of Higher Education and Training
  responsible for a range of Legislation in terms
  of
• Presidential Proclamation No 44 of 2009
  Government Gazette Number 32367 of 1 July 2009
• Presidential Proclamation No 531of 2009
  Government Gazette Number 32549 of 4th
  September2009

7
Previous DoE Legislation (1)

• National Student Financial Aid Scheme Act, 1999
  (Act No. 56 of 1999)
• Higher Education Act, 1997 (Act No. 101 of 1997)
• Adult Basic Education and Training Act, 2000 (Act
  No. 52 of 2000)
• Further Education and Training Colleges Act, 2006
  (Act No. 16 of 2006)
• National Qualifications Framework Act, 2008 (Act
  No. 67 of 2008)

8
Previous DoE Legislation (2)

• The following Acts contain sections applicable to
  the mandate of the Ministry
• National Education Policy Act, 1996 (Act No. 27
  of 1996)
• Employment of Educators Act, 1998 (Act No. 76 of
  1998)
• South African Council for Educators Act, 2000
  (Act No. 31 of 2000)
• General and Further Education and Training
  Quality Assurance Act, 2001 (Act No. 58 of 2001)

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Previous DoL Legislation
LEGISLATION EXTENT OF TRANSFER
Skills Development Act, 1998 (Act No. 97 of 1998) All the provisions except- sections 2(1)(g) and (h), 2(2)(a)(v), (vi) and (xii), 5(4) (only with respect to Productivity South Africa), 22(1), 23, 24, 25, 26K, 26L, 26M, 26N, item 4 of Schedule 2A and Schedule 4 and any other provision which pertains to employment services, as defined in section 1, or Productivity South Africa, as established by section 26K.
Skills Development Levies Act, 1999 (Act No. 9 of 1999) All the provisions
National Qualifications Framework Act, 2008 (Act No. 67 of 2008) Section 9
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Institutions for which the DHET is responsible (1)

• Qualification Councils
• South African Qualifications Authority
• Council on Higher Education (including HEQC)
• Qualification Council for Trades and Occupations
• Advisory Boards
• Council on Higher Education
• National Board for Further Education and Training
• National Skills Authority
• Funding Structures
• NSFAS
• National Skills Fund

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Institutions for which the DHET is responsible (2)

• Providers
• 23 Public HEI (and private)
• 50 FET Colleges (and private)
• Nationally planned
• Regionally relevant
• Responsive to local needs
• Nursing and Agricultural Colleges to remain with
  line Departments but to form part of a
  co-ordinated College sector within a defined
  framework
• Trade Testing Centres
• Skills Development Institutes

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Institutions for which the DHET is responsible (3)

• Sectoral Education and Training Authorities that
  cover all economic sectors by allocated standard
  industrial classification codes with the
  following responsibilities
• Manage stakeholder relations and skills demand
  needs in the sector
• Develop sector skills plans and signal sector
  skills demand and priorities
• Disburse mandatory grants against employer
  workplace skills plans and annual training
  reports
• Disburse discretionary grants for national and
  sector skills development activities (projects,
  learnerships, apprenticeships, bursaries,
  workplace experience, internships, skills
  programmes, ABET)
• Improve quality of learning in the workplace
  through learning development planning
  (qualifications and learning programmes,
  curriculum development support), assessment and
  certification
• Quality assure learning achievements (currently
  as SAQA accredited ETQAs accredit providers,
  approve learning programmes and certificate
  successful achievements, register assessors)
• Manage learnership agreements and apprenticeship
  contracts for employed (18.1) and unemployed
  (18.2) learners
• Support development of Institutes of Sectoral and
  Occupational Excellence

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ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSITIONNational Macro
Organisation Project (1)

• Departments of Labour and Education have
  established 9 operational work streams under the
  MOP of the DPSA to manage split and incorporation
  of skills development functions Deadline for
  completion 31 Oct 09
• Organisatonal scoping
• to analyse and identify functions for transfer to
  the affected departments
• Human resource scoping (HR Audit)
• for affected functions including corporate
  services of both relinquishing Departments
• Organisational structure
• Designing the new organisational structures of
  both new (DHET and DBE) and relinquishing
  departments (DoL)

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ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSITIONNational Macro
Organisation Project (1)

• NMOS Operational Work Streams (ctd)
• Physical resource audit
• Finance and budget audit
• ICT audit
• Labour relations
• Legal
• Change management and communications

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Conclusion of NMOS

• The purpose of the NMOS Organizational Report is
  to finalize the organizational design and
  processes in order to conclude
• Consultation with labour in departmental
  chambers.
• Approval by the relevant Executive Authorities
  for the identified functions, staff identified
  for transfer and organisational structure of
  affected departments.
• A determination by the Minister for the Public
  Service and Administration on the transfer of
  functions and concomitant staff.

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Managing the Transition Administrative

• The processes of allocating staff to the new
  departments is unlikely to be complete by 3th
  October.
• It will be proposed that
• The following functional units be transferred
  from the relinquishing Department of Education as
  soon as the organogram has been approved, and
  that an SLA be concluded regarding financial
  management until the end of the 2009/10 financial
  year
• Branch Higher Education
• Chief Directorate FE Colleges
• Directorate HRD
• Directorate Adult Education
• The functional units identified by DPSA be
  transferred from the Department of Labour as soon
  as the organogram has been approved

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Managing the Transition Financial

• It will be proposed that
• The corporate service functions remain with the
  relinquishing department of the DoE and DoL until
  the end of the 2009/10 financial year under a SLA
  agreement
• The DHET has no budget for 2009/10. All ac
  tivities are funded through the approved budgets
  of DoE and DoL.
• The DGs of DoE and DoL are the accounting
  officers for 2009/10

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Scope of DHET (1)

• The bringing together of Higher Education
  Institutions, FET Colleges and the Skills Sector
  into a single Ministry of Higher Education and
  Training provides a powerful basis for
  addressing education and training in an
  integrated way. The Ministry has the
  responsibility to develop the countrys education
  and training institutional capacity and resources
  into a coherent but diverse and differentiated
  post school learning system serving adults and
  youth within the framework of the HRD-SA.

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Scope of DHET (2)

• This post school system for the country will be
  based on guiding principles which will include
• The post schooling system will be planned as a
  single nationally coordinated entity of the
  highest quality with maximum articulation and
  portability
• The system will be designed and operated to
  maximise equity of opportunity and outcome for
  youth and adults in and out of the labour market
• The system will consist of a diverse and
  differentiated institutional base with
  institutional missions being appropriate to the
  needs of the country.

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Scope of DHET (3)

• The work of the Ministry will focus on addressing
  the short, medium and long-term priorities of a
  Human Resource Development Strategy for South
  Africa which must be aligned to
• The Government Programme of Action and the
  Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF)
• Government policies including
• National Industrial Policy Framework and
  Industrial Policy Action Plan
• The Land Restitution and Rural Development
  Strategies
• The Anti-Poverty Strategy
• The Technology and Innovations Strategy
• The Growth and Development Strategy
• New sector-specific plans that emerge
• The HRD Strategy for the Public Sector.

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MEDIUM TERM STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK (1)

• Comprehensive rural development strategy Skills
  development
• Recapitalise agricultural training colleges to
  develop and run training programmes to support
  rural economies.
• Skills development and training services will be
  accessible to farm workers.
• Rural FET colleges will be strengthened and
  equipped to address a range of relevant rural
  development skills challenges.

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MEDIUM TERM STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK (2)

• Strengthen the skills and human resource base
• Broaden access to post-secondary education and
  improve higher education throughput rate
• Deliver post-secondary education through a
  diverse mix of sites of learning and types
• Where appropriate, colleges for various
  professions will be established to address skills
  shortages
• Learners will be given the tools to make informed
  choices regarding education opportunities
• Financial need and the physical capacity of the
  post-secondary system must meet learner demand

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MEDIUM TERM STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK (3)

• Strengthen the skills and human resource base
• Broaden access to post-secondary education and
  improve higher education throughput rate (ctd)
• Higher education should skew resources to areas
  of study that will aid in addressing the skills
  shortages and ensure enrolment of the ablest of
  students irrespective of socio-economic
  background
• The transformation of higher education
  institutions will be intensified with a culture
  built on professionalism, innovation and personal
  accountability
• Efforts will be made to increase the proportion
  of students studying at postgraduate level
• A sustainable investment strategy will be
  developed

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MEDIUM TERM STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK (4)

• Strengthen the skills and human resource base
• Broaden access to post-secondary education and
  improve higher education throughput rate (ctd)
• The FET sector nationally (including
  Agricultural Colleges) will be the primary site
  for skills development training.
• FET will play a significant role in providing
  second chance education for those who do not make
  it in the 12th year programme of education
• FET colleges and SETAs will link with business,
  industry, and other s to involve employers/firms
  more meaningfully
• FET colleges to recruit and retain highly skilled
  and experienced instructors

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MEDIUM TERM STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK (5)

• Strengthen the skills and human resource base
• Broaden access to post-secondary education and
  improve higher education throughput rate (ctd)
• FET instructors to link classroom experiences
  with practical, workplace-based learning
  experiences.
• FET colleges to partner with other governmental
  agencies and civil society programmes that create
  and incubate small enterprises
• Government will ensure better coordination and
  integration of the relevant government
  departments and agencies responsible for skills
  development, including SOEs.

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MEDIUM TERM STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK (6)

• Training and skills development initiatives in
  the country must respond to the requirements of
  the economy, rural development challenges and
  social integration.
• The main aim would be to increase the number of
  skilled personnel in the priority skills areas
  such as design, engineering and artisanship
  categories that are critical to manufacturing,
  construction, cultural activities and other
  priority economic sectors identified in the NIPF.
  
• Additionally skills development programmes will
  be implemented, purposefully aimed at equipping
  the unemployed and vulnerable with requisite
  skills to overcome poverty and unemployment.

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IMMEDIATE TASKS

• The immediate tasks include ensuring that all
  policies, strategies and plans of each of the
  component sectors (HE, FET and Skills) are
  brought into alignment with
• the National Human Resource Development Strategy.
• the MTSF and PoA
• The MTEF

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The Skills Transition

• The Minister assumes the legal mandate on 1st
  November
• Urgent Issues before the Minister include
• Appointing a Chair for the NSA. The NSA would
  need to be consulted with regard to
• Publication of the restructured SETA Landscape
  for stakeholder consultation
• Approval of the publication of the National
  Skills Development Strategy (NSDS III) 2010
  2015 for stakeholder consultation
• Launching the QCTO and the appointing the Chair.

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ImmediateTasks for Minister HET

• Strengthening relationships with key
  stakeholders particularly, business and labour
  and collaboratively
• Clarify overarching skills strategies so that
  structures and instruments are refined to serve
  strategy, and that the various components of the
  education and training system are coherently
  conceptualized
• Strengthen the NSA so that it can rigorously and
  vigorously perform its policy advisory role to
  the Minister, operate as powerful source of
  strategy to complement the HRD Council as well
  as establish the processes necessary to
  effectively monitor agencies and quality
  assurance processes

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• With a re-invigorated and strengthened NSA
• Reviewing NSDSIII so that it is a strategic
  instrument of the HRD and its related social and
  economic developmental strategies
• Reviewing the recommendations on the SETA
  Landscape to ensure that SETA structures are
• Based on a more precise understanding of the role
  of the SETAs and the priorities they should
  follow
• Reflect an appropriate segmentation of the
  economy that is aligned with emerging industrial
  strategies and the work of the Quality Council
  for Trades and Occupations
• Minimize capacity deficits at all levels, avoid
  duplication and maximize economies of scale
• Financially sustainable
• Build the public sector
• Informed by policy positions of government