Purpose of the Sessions

Outcomes of the Stakeholder Information Session held from 11-13 July 2012 in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban

Purpose of the Sessions

·  Inform stakeholders of the FP&M SETA on developments in the SETA and the national skills development arena;

·  Consult stakeholders on critical issues relating to skills development in the FP&M sector; and

·  To elicit input from stakeholders on how to improve SETA processes, including mandatory and discretionary grant processes.

·  To ascertain stakeholder attitudes (both positive and negative) towards the FP&M SETA

Address from the Chairperson of the FP&M SETA Board, Mr. Sipho Ngidi

·  The role of the Interim Board during the first 6 months of the amalgamation;

·  The process of amalgamating the three former SETAs (CTFL SETA, FIETA and PPPP sub-sectors of MAPPP-SETA)

·  The structure and role of the formally constituted FP&M SETA Board, EXCO and Committees

The FP&M SETA Board / Committees and the FP&M Sector

·  All sub-sectors should have access to resources and resources must be applied to the benefit of all stakeholders; and

·  The FP&M SETA should tap into the array of skills available within the sub-sectors. Governance structures are limited but the SETA could benefit from all creative minds in the sector.

The FP&M SETA Staffing Structure

·  An organogram has been approved and all operational positions have been staffed from internal staff resources;

·  Adequate skills sets have been put in place to ensure the functioning of the SETA.

·  Interviews conducted were aimed at finding the best people to meet the job requirements;

·  No staff members have been retrenched.

Operationalising the FP&M SETA

·  Offices were established in three regions to ensure all the sub-sectors in all regions are serviced;

·  An interim MIS system was put in place and the process to procure a consolidated MIS and IT system to meet the needs of the organisation, have commenced;

·  Policies and procedures were developed by appointed task teams in collaboration with industry experts;

·  The Board appointed an Acting CEO. The process to recruit a CEO for the FP&M SETA on a permanent basis has commenced;

Report on Finance and Governance Issues

·  Summary of income received during 2011/12 and expenditure incurred during the period;

·  External audit was underway and at that stage no adverse opinion had been received

·  Any issues that could have raised findings were declared up front and the outcome of the audit was still awaited.

Challenges experienced

·  Amalgamation was a process decided upon by the DHET and had to be completed in a very short timeframe

·  Achieving coherence between 3 different (office) cultures will take some more time;

·  Also blending 13 different (sub-sector) cultures into one will require mutual understanding and respect;

·  Staff experienced uncertainty – some did leave as a result and talent retention would have to be addressed going forward;

·  Staff would need to build capacity to understand the intricacies of new sub-sectors – we will require assistance from the industry;

·  Stakeholder Challenges:

o  Sub-sectors

§  SETA role is to ensure that the 13 sub-sectors increase their competitiveness year on year by using the skills challenge as the route that connects us into one SETA;

§  The SETA and the FP&M sector needs to start thinking the same way about skills development in order to get out of it what we want to achieve e.g. WSPs should not only be submitted to access mandatory grants but workplace skills planning should form part of the process to improve productivity and increase competitiveness;

§  SETA must establish integrated baseline information on all 13 sub-sectors

o  DHET

§  Response time from DHET is slow and impacts on SETA processes e.g. signing off on strategic documents;

§  Government priorities do not always necessarily align with sector priorities e.g. artisan training is only one aspect of FP&M sector skills needs and governments push for artisan training should not stop us from delivering on other sector priorities;

§  Possible political changes could result in a change in leadership (and policy) down the line

·  The SETA must become a useful part of the sector’s skills development infrastructure. To achieve this we require information sharing and cooperation in order to set out SETA priorities to the benefit of the sector.

Overview on Performance

Presentation delivered by the Acting CEO, Mr. Bheki Zulu included a summary on the FP&M SETA’s performance against NSDS III targets.

The following issues were highlighted:

·  Indicator 4.1 - Sector skills planning is no longer just a compliance issue – the SSP should also provide insight into the way firms can improve their processes and become more competitive.

·  Indicator 4.3 - Partnerships should be established between FET Colleges, the SETA and the sector to ensure delivery of sector programmes. FETs should become more responsive to the needs of the sector.

·  4.5 NSDS III - Every workplace should become a training space. In order for this to be realized, employers must open their doors to learners to obtain work experience.

The RED areas (unsatisfactory performance) identified need urgent attention from the FP&M SETA and sector – these include partnerships with FETs and skills development interventions focused on small firms, community based organisations and non-levy paying firms. However we also need to address the GREEN areas (satisfactory performance) as some challenges relating to SETA processes still posed some challenge. The FP&M SETA would have to re-engineer some of its processes to make these more effective.

Presentation on SSP Process

Ms. Sylvia Tsunke / Ms. Drina Davies delivered a presentation on the development of the Sector Skills Plan and Workplace Skills Planning.

Summary of Stakeholder Issues Raised During the Workshops

Apprenticeships

·  Artisan training is the life blood of certain sub-sectors (e.g. printing and packaging) and adequate funding should be made available to address the needs of the sub-sector in this regard.

·  More efficient processes should be put in place to process trade test applications as it was currently taking too long

·  Apprenticeship wages should be reviewed as there is a disparity between payments to apprentices in different sub-sectors e.g. printing and textiles.

·  The FP&M SETA should address the accreditation of artisan training providers. E.g. only 12% of companies in the printing and packaging sub-sectors are accredited and therefore have to train for the whole industry as they know their graduates will be poached. These firms/providers needed a guarantee that they would receive adequate funding to deliver the training.

Communications

·  The FP&M SETA should communicate to its stakeholders on a regular basis is important.

·  The FP&M SETA newsletter should cover more relevant articles relating to all sub-sectors (including printing and packaging).

·  Stakeholders should submit relevant articles and success stories to the FP&M SETA for inclusion in the newsletter.

·  Bi-monthly or quarterly updates should be compiled to explain SETA processes e.g. new regulations, policies and processes and new developments e.g. learnerships and apprenticeships.

·  Compile fact sheets on pertinent issues e.g. discretionary grants / mandatory grants etc.

·  Employer and labour organisations should include articles on the FP&M SETA and relevant skills development issues in their publications.

·  A mechanism should be established for employers / industry bodies to put forward proposals / issues that could be considered by the SETA (not necessarily a workshop).

·  Employer and labour organisations should present consolidated proposals to the SETA on behalf of their constituencies.

·  Stakeholder organisations should distribute all information received from the FP&M SETA to their members. Updated contact details of the relevant contact person/s at the stakeholder organisations should be forwarded to the SETA in order to update the FP&M SETA Stakeholder Database.

·  Note: Not all firms belong to employer organisations.

·  FP&M SETA should send a letter to all stakeholder organisations to request distribution of SETA notices and newsletters and to request contact information. An invitation to submit contact details should also be posted on the website.

·  Invitations to SETA events should be addressed to SDFs not CEOs as SDFs are the ones dealing with skills development matters.

·  There should be two-way communication – the SETA should make information available in the same way that firms are expected to provide information.

·  Labour organisations should distribute information on SETA activities and skills development matters to their members in the factories as they do not receive adequate information via their firms.

·  Stakeholders should invite the FP&M SETA staff to make presentations to their organisations or clusters of firms during meetings, AGMs or workshops.

Discretionary Grant Process

·  The discretionary grant allocation process should be revised as some sub-sectors (e.g. Printing and Packaging) did not agree with the current allocation process which resulted in an unsatisfactory allocation per sub-sector. The formula used for allocation of discretionary grant disbursement did not necessarily apply sufficiently across all sub-sectors e.g. some sector could only access apprenticeship grants.

·  The criteria applied during the evaluation of project proposals should be revised. The FP&M SETA should not only consider NSDS targets but should evaluate the validity of project proposals and the impact these could have on the sector and the community.

·  During the revision process, the SETA should consult with stakeholders and ensure that there is agreement on the disbursement strategy. Everyone must understand what the rules are and any disagreement should be settled before the process is implemented so that the results are not queried.

·  Stakeholders (applicants) should be informed on the process to access ALL grant categories. This should be achieved through discretionary grant workshops during which the SETA should inform stakeholders of all requirements to access the different funding windows.

·  The criteria relating to the eligibility of applicants (e.g. registered employers vs training providers) should be clarified and communicated to stakeholders. There is a perception that project proposals from training providers were not being considered. Training is conducted by training providers on a continuous basis and funding is required to move the pool of talented people trained by them into the industry.

·  Applicants should take note of the criteria applicable to specific funding windows as this would indicate the parameters against which applications would be evaluated. Applicants should ensure that they apply against the correct funding window and that they meet the specified criteria for the funding window.

·  Worker representatives (Union officials) should take note of the funding window that relates to worker initiated programmes.

·  Stakeholders should acknowledge that discretionary grants are allocated at the discretion of the Board and within the parameters of available funding. Policies and procedures are in place and are aligned to the strategic plan of the SETA. Discretionary grants are intended to supplement and complement the training done by firm, but not to cover 100% costs of the training. Discretionary grants are over subscribed and the Board is acutely aware of this.

·  Discretionary grant categories and requirements should be communicated to stakeholders in advance in order for them to plan for future initiatives and include the training in the WSPs.

·  The FP&M SETA should actively promote the submission of WSPs as only companies that submit WSPs can access discretionary grants.

ETQA

·  The FP&M ETQA should provide clarification regarding the status of organisations accredited by the former SETAs and the validity of certificates issued to these providers under the former SETAs. The ETQA should also clarify the process of re-accreditation and the relevant requirements.

·  The FP&M ETQA should provide a letter of explanation that could be submitted by providers when applying for tenders to explain that the certification (done under the former SETAs) is still valid so that the provider is not prejudiced.

Industry Expertise

·  The FP&M SETA staff should tap into the different skills sets that are available from subject matter and industry experts in the different sub-sectors as strength is established through diversity and these experts could contribute skills and expertise which will broaden the spectrum of available skills.

Learnerships

·  The effectiveness and relevance of learnership curricula in the FP&M sector should be reviewed

·  Learner tracking should be conducted to establish return on investment of learnership funding.

·  Note: Often firms do not retain all the learners they have trained but lose them to other firms within the sector / other sectors.

Local Procurement

·  In order to address the threat of cheap imports, the FP&M sector (SETA and Stakeholders in partnership with the dti) should develop sector strategies to enhance competitiveness (locally and internationally).

·  The SETA should promote local procurement (especially from the FP&M sector) as part of its Local Procurement Strategy.

·  Note: The SETA is in the process of entering into a partnership with Proudly SA.

·  The FP&M SETA should review training that was conducted for custom officials in the past and consider future training interventions (if viable).

NSDS III Implementation

·  The FP&M SETA should inform firms and organisation in the sector how they could assist the SETA to reach its NSDSIII targets.

·  The FP&M SETA should partner with FETs/HETs, firms and stakeholder organisations to implement special projects in order to address NSDSIII indicators.

·  An FET strategy should be developed by the FP&M SETA (in discussion with DHET) and should be presented to the FP&M sector.

·  The FP&M SETA should inform stakeholders regarding opportunities to access funding from the NSF and should assist with the submission of proposals that address national priorities e.g. unemployment. Partnerships with public FET colleges will be an important step.

Qualifications

·  The Print Media, Printing and Packaging sub-sectors should review qualifications currently registered for their sub-sectors and should develop relevant learning programmes to meet the skills development needs of their sub-sectors with assistance from the FP&M SETA.

·  Note: This will also broaden their access to discretionary grant categories.

·  Note: The development should be fast tracked (but without compromising the other sub-sectors represented in the SETA.)