The Banking Sector Education and Training Authority (Bankseta)

Thornhill Office Park, Block 15
94 Bekker Road
Midrand
South Africa

Tel:  (011) 805-9661
Fax:  (011) 805-8348
Email: FrankG(zavinac)bankseta.org.za

Professional career:

Frank Groenewald has been involved in education and training within the banking sector since 1989. Whilst being a specialist project manager for the implementation of training legislation in the Absa group, he worked on a number of inter-bank sectoral initiatives that dealt with the establishment of a new culture of learning in South Africa, and specifically in the banking sector. Thereafter he joined the BANKSETA, which focuses primarily on skills development as a vehicle to deliver on social transformation objectives of South Africa, and more specifically those objectives that relate to the banking and microfinance industry. He is past Chairman and current member of the National Standards body for Business, Commerce and Management Studies; a board member of the Institute of Bankers of Southern Africa; a member of the Advisory Board for Centre for Microfinance Development at the University of Pretoria, and is also an industry representative on the human resource committee of the Finance Sector Charter Council.

Summary of the presentation:
Groenewald

The South African landscape underwent major changes during the last 12 years. Although most people are aware of the significant changes in the political environment, few understand or are aware of the long term implications of what apartheid did to the country. The new government realised  that in order to develop the economy, skills development in the FET and HET bands had to be prioritised. In order to systematise a process of skill development, Business, Government and Organised Labour agreed to implement the Skills Development Act (Act 99 of 2000). The skills drive in the country is funded by a skills development levy. The act prescribes the establishment and functions of a number of sector education and training authorities (SETA). 25 SETAs were established during March 2000. The objectives of setas are to:

• to develop the skills of the South African workforce;
• to increase the levels of investment in education and training in the labour market  and to improve the return on that investment;
• to encourage employers:
  • to use the workplace as an active learning environment and to provide employees with opportunities to acquire new skills;
  • to provide opportunities for new entrants to the labour market to gain work experience; and
• to encourage workers to participate in learnerships and other training programmes;

As Indicated above, all seta have specific sector responsibilities in terms of skills development as well as social transformation. Setas therefore focus on the funding and project management of initiatives for employed and unemployed people within their respective sectors.  The presentation will deal with:

• The aims and objectives of Skills development in South Africa
• The Levy system and its implementation
• A Case study on the banking sector education and training authority (BANKSETA) in South Africa.