Accreditation - Recorded Providers

Search For Recorded Training Providers

How to Align Learning Programmes
Procedures and Guidelines for Provider Recorded Status
Services Seta ETQA (SETQAA) Application for Recorded Status as an Education and Training Provider


1. Background:

During the period 01 April 2000 to 31 March 2005 the accreditation policy of the Services SETA was based on the principle of development and capacity building of education and training providers operating within the Services sector.

Education and training providers were given the opportunity to adapt their institutions and methodologies to deliver learning programmes that lead to national, NQF registered Unit Standards and/or Qualifications.

On the 1 st September 2004 the new accreditation policy of the Services SETA came into being and was communicated to all providers. According to this policy, SETQAA will only accept and process Letters of Intent to be accredited from providers who have learning programmes that are aligned to registered Unit Standards and/or Qualifications. And Providers who were currently in the system and accredited must endeavour to submit their applications and/or alignment by no later than 15 December 2004. Thereafter no applications will be acknowledged and/or accepted unless the programmes are aligned to registered Unit Standards and/or Qualifications. No extensions on submission dates will be granted for applications that are not aligned to registered Unit Standards and/or Qualifications.

In December 2004 a Self Evaluation Questionnaire (SEQ) for re-accreditation was issued to providers which re-iterated the fact that re-accreditation would ONLY be considered where a provider has learning programmes aligned to registered Unit Standards and/or Qualifications.

2. Recorded Providers:

After the evaluation of providers’ re-accreditation applications the Services Seta ETQA (SETQAA) made a decision to accommodate providers offering short learning programmes that are non-credit bearing by introducing the “Recorded providers status”.

Definition:

Recorded providers status means providers who are offering learning programmes which are not yet aligned to SAQA Registered Unit Standards and/ or providers who previously have been awarded Institutional Accreditation and currently in the process of aligning their learning programmes to Registered Unit Standards and being awarded provisional accreditation.

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3. Reasons for not aligning:

  • Unit Standards haven’t been developed yet
  • Programme does not amount to a unit standard

i). Unit standards haven’t been developed yet:

Some of the aims for the Recorded providers are to:

  • Measure the current extent of short courses within the Services Seta Sector
  • Establish the appropriate unit standards that still need to be developed in the Services Seta Sector
  • And to ensure that programmes that falls outside the parameters for accreditation at this stage are brought into the quality assurance cycle.

ii) Programmes do not amount to a unit standard:

A large number of providers offering short learning programmes, which are non-credit bearing, fall under this category. Programmes being offered by these providers are non-credit bearing in relation to Unit Standards and Qualifications, but are integral to effective workplace practice.

Generally, it would not be the intention of these programmes to award credits but they have been developed to fulfill a need in a working environment or the need may originate from WSPs and SSPs ect.

These programmes do not fall within the ambit of the mandate of the NQF. The NQF is responsible for Registered Unit Standards and Qualifications and ETQAs are mandated to monitor and audit training provision and achievements in terms of the standards or qualifications registered on the NQF, which they as an ETQA are accredited for.

According to SAQA “accreditation of providers offering non-NQF- aligned short learning Programmes, are not necessary. However, ETQAs my feel the need to establish processes whereby provisioning of this nature is quality assured within their sectors”.

In line with this model SETQAA adopted the “Recorded Providers” model and Services Seta instituted a ruling that states that Services Seta member paying stakeholders will be able to claim from their grants if they use ONLY Recorded Providers and/or Accredited Providers.

 4. Wayforward:

All providers awarded Recorded Providers status have until the 30 th June 2005 to source relevant Unit Standards, align their programmes and submit to SETQAA for re-accreditation to be considered; failing to meet the deadline the provider will retain the Recorded status until such time that programmes are aligned and granted Provisional Accreditation by SETQAA.

Should you need any assistance with model on how to align, refer to the attached document.

Should you need any assistance with SETQAA registered unit standards and qualifications, contact Thembinkosi on 011 715 1800 or e-mail him on thembinkosim@serviceseta.org.za <mailto:thembinkosim@serviceseta.org.za> .

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