Becoming a Provider for learnerships

What does providing a learnership entail?

Institutions involved in providing learnerships should bear in mind the main purpose of the system. These are to:

• create a swift and efficient introduction to the world of work and to the “community of expert practice”
• assist the learner to move from a state of dependence to participation
• provide a sound basis of both technical competency as well as a range of supporting competencies to develop the capacity of the learner
• allow the learners to take responsibility and to reflect on their own learning and work as soon as possible
• consider the learnership ultimately as preparation for further learning / education, management or entrepreneurial activities

Who will be involved in the provision of learnerships?

Learnerships require that providers have a variety of capabilities to provide both structured workplace experience and structured learning. It is likely that this provision is shared between two types of providers:

• structured work experience always has to be provided in a work setting, while
• structured learning is more likely to be provided by an institutional provider (although it can be provided at the workplace as well)

Again, as many workplaces, especially SMMEs are unlikely to be able to provide for all workplace-related outcomes, SETAs must arrange for a number of workplaces to be available, and should support the establishment of non-governmental organisations who can effectively co-ordinate group training to increase the possibility of including smaller workplaces as providers.

How are providers accredited?

All providers of learnerships will be expected to meet the requirements for accreditation (as outlined by SAQA Regulations) as well as those of the appropriate Education and Training Quality Assurance (ETQA) function. These requirements assure the provider’s capabilities to plan, deliver and manage the standards and qualifications for the learnerships concerned.

Providers who do not demonstrate progress toward meeting these accreditation requirements will not be funded through the Skills Development Fund. Where providers are still in the early stages of their own establishment, a developmental approach toward the accreditation of providers has been suggested.

Accreditation of provider, quality promotion and monitoring provision

Accreditation is the process and the criteria according to which an ETQA will give formal recognition than an organisation or person is competent to be a provider of education and training. This accreditation will refer to specific qualifications or standards on specific levels of the NQF.