Learnership Cash Grant Application & Guidelines For

Learnership Cash Grant Application & Guidelines for

EXEMPT (Non Skills Development Levy Paying) Employers

For the period 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2008

INTRODUCTION

The Fasset sector is one of the worst performing sectors in terms of employment equity. Current learner registration statistics (at 1 October 2007) indicate that only 45% of learners are black (this includes African, Coloured and Indian people) and 0.7% of learners have disabilities. This has improved from February 2002, when 34% of learners were black (this includes African, Coloured and Indian people) and 0,2% of learners have disabilities. It is also evident from the demographics of the ‘Professionals’ occupational group that black learners are not adequately integrated into the sector.

As a result of this trend, Fasset is offering a minimum grant of R11,000.00 per black and/or learners with a disability, which may increase depending on the duration of the Fasset learnership. See the tables directly below for the grant available.

For the employment of black learners, the grant is as follows:

For the employment of learners with a disability, the grant is increased as follows:

CRITERIA FOR GRANT APPROVAL

• The grant application must be submitted to Fasset by no later than 31 March 2009.
• Employers may apply for the grant on the correct registration of learners on ALL Fasset registered learnerships and other Seta learnerships that fall under Fasset’s Education and Training Quality Authority (ETQA) scope. A list of these learnerships is available under the Learnerships section of the Fasset website.
• Only employers employing less than 150 employees as of 1 January 2008 are eligible for the grant.
• Employers may only apply for this grant on black (African, Coloured and Indian) and learners with a disability. The Employment Equity Act of 1998 defines people with disabilities as ‘people who have a long-term or recurring physical or mental impairment that substantially limits their prospects of entry into or advancement in employment’. Physical impairments include hearing and visual impairments, paralysis, amputations and problems with internal organs. Mental impairment includes clinically defined mental and emotional illnesses and learning disabilities.
• Only learners who are South African citizens with a valid South African Identity document may be put forward for the grant.
• There is no limit to the number of learners that may be applied for.
• The grant application must be submitted to Fasset by no later than 31 March 2009 in respect of black or disabled learners commencing a Fasset learnership in the period 1 January 2008to 31 December 2008. Requests for extension will be considered for this grant. However, the application MUST arrive at the Seta on or before the deadline date of the grant application on 31 March 2009. Requests for extension of the discretionary grant deadline (including the Learnership Cash Grant application and the Strategic Cash Grant application) must be addressed to Fasset in writing, using the correct form (available on the Fasset website), on or before the deadline date of grant application deadline date of 31 March 2009. Should a request for extension come in after a grant deadline date, the request for extension will not be acceptable. Employers should complete the request form in full and submit it to the Skills Planning Officer at Fasset (before the deadline date for grant submission has passed) by e-mail () or fax (011 459-4350 or 011 476-5756).

COMPLETION GUIDELINES

• The grant must be completed correctly and submitted in the required format.
• Include your employer registration number as approved by Fasset on each page of the application form.
• Ensure that the SDF and the relevant Authorised Signatory sign each page of the grant application form. Names may not be typed in this space, signatures must be manually completed.
• Fasset must first approve the Learnership Cash Grant before any grant payments will be made.
• Applications must be forwarded directly to the Skills Planning Department.
• ‘Double-dipping’ on learners is prohibited. Employers may not repeatedly apply for the grant on the same learner.
• An official confirmation letter (as defined below) for each learner against whom the employer is applying should be attached to the application form.
• Fasset reserves the right to conduct monitoring visits to employers who have received the Learnership Cash Grant.
• An employer may apply for the grant at different times of the year, for different learners.
• Learners may be currently employed i.e. 18.1 learners, or not previously employed i.e. 18.2 learners.
• In the case of fax submission, it is the applicant’s obligation to ensure that the document is submitted to the correct fax number and that a copy of the confirmation slip, with the correct number of pages transmitted, is returned to the employer and retained for later use/proof.
• In the case of submission via the postal system, it is the applicant’s obligation to ensure the document is submitted to the correct physical/postal address and that proof of sending via registered mail is kept.
• In the case of hand delivery or courier, it is the applicant’s obligation to ensure the document is submitted to the correct physical/postal address and physical proof (delivery note of sending via hand delivery) is retained.
• A copy of the grant application must be retained.

Applications will be processed on a FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS as of 1 January 2008. This means that there are limited funds available for grant claims, which may be depleted before your organisation chooses to make an application later in the financial year. Grant applications received, even if incomplete, will be considered in the sequence they are received.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Fasset recognises the need for absolute discretion in respect of the information requested in the Learnership Cash Grant Application and employers are assured that all information received will be treated with the highest regard for confidentiality. Information received in the grant applications are aggregated for the purposes of the Sector Skills Plan (SSP), research and strategic directives.

CHECKLIST FOR COMPLETION: STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS

• Fasset Call Centre
• Website (SMS system)

• Website
• Learnership List

• Website
• Fasset Development Projects List

• Fasset or Professional Body

• Fasset or Professional Body

• As per employer’s employment policies and procedures
• 31 December 2008

• Fasset/SAICA Website
• 31 December 2008

• Fasset/SAICA Office
• 31 December 2008

• Fasset/SAICA Office

• As per employer’s employment and training policies and procedures

• Fasset/SAICA official confirmation letter/s for black and/or learner/s with a disabilityagainst whom applying
• Copies of the black and/or learner/s with a disability Identity Document
• Fasset letter indicating approval of the mandatory grant
• Cancelled cheque etc … (for updated banking details)

• 31 March 2009

LCG Exempt 2008/2009

Section A: Particulars of the Organisation

Complete the information in the table below. Please specify all Fasset registration numbers and corresponding organisation names.

Section B: Compliance with Criteria

Please tick the appropriate box () if the statements below have been complied with. If the statements below have not been complied with, please mark the box with an X (X).

Section C: Learner Details

Please complete the table below in respect of the learners against whom you are claiming the grant. Refer to the Fasset website for details of the Learnership Title and Learnership Code.

Section D: Learner Integration Plan

The table below indicates areas where education and training interventions (defined below) will be required in terms of this grant. Such interventions are considered essential for the effective integration of black and/or learners with a disability into the workplace. Employers are requested to provide details of planned or completed training with regard to ALL areas indicated in the table below. Use additional pages if required. If the organisation chooses not to implement training in these areas, valid reasons for such an omission must be provided. Fasset reserves the right to evaluate and monitor the implementation of the Integration Plan through site visits, be they by Fasset or any other Education and Training Quality Authority (ETQA) with whom Fasset has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). PWD = person with disability.

Section E: Allocation of Grant

Fasset research has shown that financial constraints are one of the barriers limiting access of black and/or people with disabilities into the sector. Please indicate, in the applicable areas below, how the Learnership Cash Grant will be utilised and the amount that will be allocated to specific expenses. The expenses listed are to be applicable to the entire duration of the learnership, not necessarily a 1 year period.

Examples include:

• Living Expenses e.g. Transport, accommodation, clothing
• Tuition Fees e.g. Tertiary institution registration fees, examination fees
• Professional Body Fees e.g. Student fees, exam fees
• Learning Materials e.g. Textbooks, resource materials

Please complete the table directly below.

Section F: Training Plan for the period 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009

This table identifies those beneficiaries that will participate in learning interventions in the financial year extending from 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009. Indicate the number of beneficiaries who will receive training and not the number of programmes that will be run during the course of the year. Count each intended recipient of training once only, not each time they are to complete an intervention. If a beneficiary is to complete 6 courses in the period, they are to be counted once in this table. For purposes of completing the D (disabled)column, persons with disabilities are in the first instance categorised along population group and gender lines, and then again as disabled. The section ‘External new recruits (including 18(2) learners at this level and above) to be trained’ refers to those recruits who are to be taken on in the financial year and who receive training. Trainee accounting and auditing clerks fall into the Technicians & Associated Professionals category. Refer to the guidelines at end of the application.

In the table above: M=Male, F=Female, PWD =Person with disability

Section G: Provincial and Current Employment Profile at 1 January 2008

Please report the distribution of the staff (corresponding to the registration number) provincially and according to occupational group. This is defined as the total workforce in respect of whom SDL would have been paid to SARS on behalf of your organisation. Please include all permanent staff including, partners, directors and learners (irrespective of whether or not they are exempt for the SDL). Do not include other employees for whom you do not have to consider paying SDL e.g. temporary workers. Trainee accounting and auditing clerks fall into the Technicians and Associated Professionals category. Ensure that the TOTAL number of staff reported in this form match.

In the table above: M=Male, F=Female, D =Person with disability