Training spend in the ICT sector through the Sector Education and Training Authority was down R16 million last year, compared to the year before.
The Information Systems, Electronics and Telecommunication Technologies Sector Education and Training Authority (Isett Seta) says it paid out R228 million in the form of grants to ICT companies, compared to R244 million in the previous year, a 7% decline.
CEO Oupa Mopaki says the decline in spending is due to the recession, which resulted in R58 million less being paid over to the authority last year. The previous year, income from the Skills Development Levy was R277.7 million, according to its 2008 annual report.
The training authorities earn their revenue through a Skills Development Fund, which is paid via the South African Revenue Service. Companies that have registered staff for tax purposes, or pay out more than R250 000 a year in salaries, need to pay out 1% of their payroll.
Of this, 80% goes to the Setas, and the balance goes to the National Skills Fund. An employer can get back 50% or more of the levies by developing staff skills and training them through an accredited provider.
Vital money
Mopaki explains that the development of skills in the ICT sector is “fundamental in enabling and sustaining economic development and growth, and the creation of employment opportunities leading up to 2014 and beyond”.
However, the Seta needs to re-look at the types of training it provides, as there is limited need for entry-level skills, he notes. Mopaki says basic skills are needed in the call centre industry, which is able to provide jobs to new entrants, mainly because of the high attrition rate of employees in this industry.
However, the mainstream ICT sector requires project management, business analysis, software testing and software engineering skills, among others, he says.
Because of this, the Seta is re-looking its approach towards the development of high-level skills, with less emphasis on entry-level skills, Mopaki says.
However, the existence of the Setas hangs in the balance as plans for the overhaul of training authorities are being drafted, but changes will only be implemented later this year, says the Department of Higher Education.
The department, which recently took charge of the Setas from the Department of Labour, proposes to cut them down to 12, from the current 23. Details of which Setas will be affected will only be available later in the year, when the department introduces changes.
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No decisions on Setas
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