National Skills Development Association - NSDPA

🤝 Building Stronger Partnerships for Skills Development

Today marked a positive and productive engagement between the National Skills Development Providers Association (NSDPA) and the ETDP SETA as we explored opportunities for strategic collaboration in advancing South Africa's skills development agenda.

The discussions were characterised by openness, mutual respect, and a shared commitment to strengthening the quality, accessibility, and impact of education, training, and skills development across the country.

The NSDPA values the willingness of the ETDP SETA leadership to engage constructively with the private skills development sector. We believe that meaningful partnerships between stakeholders are essential to addressing the challenges facing the sector and unlocking opportunities for learners, providers, employers, and the broader economy.

This engagement is an important step towards building a collaborative relationship that will benefit the entire skills development ecosystem.

We extend our sincere appreciation to the ETDP SETA team for their warm reception and valuable engagement. We look forward to continued dialogue and practical collaboration in the months ahead.

Together, we can strengthen skills development, empower providers, and create greater opportunities for South Africans.

THE MUSHROOMING OF SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FORUMS MAY BE HURTING MORE THAN HELPING
Why South Africa's Skills Development Sector Needs Synergy, Consolidation and a Coherent Voice

By Dr Wesley Hermanus

South Africa's skills development sector is at a critical point in its evolution. The transition from legacy qualifications to the occupational qualifications system, the implementation of External Integrated Summative Assessments (EISAs), accreditation challenges, funding pressures, workplace placement requirements and the need to protect learners all demand strong and coordinated stakeholder engagement.

Yet, at precisely the time when the sector needs greater unity, we appear to be witnessing the mushrooming of associations, forums, networks, committees and representative structures seeking to speak on behalf of Skills Development Providers and other stakeholders.

This raises an important question: Are we strengthening the collective voice of the sector, or are we unintentionally fragmenting it?

Who Are the Regulators and Policymakers Supposed to Listen To?

Consider the position of key institutions such as the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO), South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and the various Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs).

When an important policy or implementation issue arises, who represents the voice of Skills Development Providers?

Is it a national association? A provincial forum? A sector-specific body? An informal network? A newly established advocacy group? Or should government and regulatory institutions consult all of them?

The concern is not that associations and forums exist. On the contrary, organised stakeholder representation is essential in a democratic and participatory skills development system. The challenge arises when multiple structures represent essentially the same constituency, raise similar concerns and approach the same institutions independently, sometimes with different positions.

This can create confusion about who has a legitimate mandate to speak for the sector.

We Have Seen This Before

South Africa has a long history of organised representation across education, training and business. Organisations and structures such as the Association of Private Providers of Education, Training and Development (APPETD), the Association of Skills Development Facilitators of South Africa (ASDFSA), the South African Private Practitioners Forum (SAPPF), the National Skills Development Providers Association (NSDPA), together with various provincial and sector-specific forums and networks, have at different times sought to represent or support stakeholders within the broader skills development ecosystem.

There are also established national business formations such as Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) and the Black Business Council (BBC), which demonstrate the value, and sometimes the complexity, of organising diverse interests under representative structures.

The lesson from these examples is not that there should only be one organisation. Different associations may legitimately serve different constituencies and specialised interests.

However, when organisations begin occupying the same representative space, fragmentation can weaken rather than strengthen advocacy.

Ten Voices Are Not Necessarily Louder Than One

There is a misconception that the creation of more organisations automatically creates greater influence.

It does not.

Ten organisations approaching the same regulator with ten different submissions may have less influence than a coordinated sector presenting one evidence-based position supported by thousands of stakeholders.

Policymakers require clarity.

Regulators require structured engagement.

The sector requires representation that carries a credible mandate.

Where representative organisations compete for recognition, membership and access to decision-makers, the real issues affecting providers and learners can become secondary.

The skills development sector cannot afford institutional competition at the expense of collective progress.

The Answer Is Synergy, Not Monopoly

Calling for consolidation does not mean calling for the elimination of every existing association or forum.

Nor should one organisation necessarily claim to be the exclusive voice of the entire sector.

What South Africa needs is synergy.

We need a structured mechanism through which established associations, forums and representative bodies can coordinate their positions on matters of national importance.

Imagine a national Skills Development Representative Council or similar coordinating platform where recognised associations retain their individual identities but collaborate on common challenges.

On issues such as:

- QCTO accreditation and implementation;
the transition from legacy to occupational qualifications;
- EISA capacity and accessibility;
- SETA funding and contracting;
- learner certification;
- workplace-based learning;
- regulatory compliance;
- provider sustainability; and
- learner protection,

the sector should be capable of developing a consolidated national position.

We can disagree internally while still speaking coherently externally.

Representation Must Be Based on Mandate

Another important question is legitimacy.

Any organisation claiming to represent Skills Development Providers should be able to demonstrate who it represents.

How many active members does it have?

Which provinces are represented?

Which sectors are represented?

Does it have a constitution and governance structure?

How are representatives elected or appointed?

How does it consult its membership before making submissions?

These questions are essential because government institutions cannot be expected to determine representation based simply on which organisation speaks the loudest or sends the most correspondence.

Credible representation requires a credible mandate.

The Real Stakeholder Must Remain the Learner

Perhaps the greatest danger of fragmentation is that organisations can become preoccupied with institutional identity rather than sector outcomes.

Ultimately, the skills development ecosystem does not exist for associations, providers, SETAs or regulators.

It exists to develop people.

Every delay in accreditation, every unresolved certification issue, every qualification transition challenge and every breakdown in stakeholder communication eventually affects a learner.

Behind every policy debate is a person trying to obtain a qualification.

Behind every delayed certificate is someone trying to secure employment.

Behind every provider that closes its doors are learners whose futures may be disrupted.

This is why our engagements must rise above organisational competition.

A Call for a National Skills Development Compact

Perhaps the time has come for leaders of the major Skills Development Provider associations, forums and networks to convene, not to discuss mergers or organisational control, but to establish a National Skills Development Compact.

Such a compact could establish principles for collaboration, information sharing, joint research and coordinated advocacy.

Individual organisations could continue serving their respective memberships while agreeing that matters of national significance should, wherever possible, be approached collectively.

A coordinated structure could engage institutions such as QCTO, SAQA, DHET and the SETAs with greater credibility and consistency.

This would not silence diverse voices.

It would organise them.

We Are Stronger When We Speak Together

South Africa's skills development system faces significant challenges, but it also presents enormous opportunities.

The question we must ask ourselves is whether history will remember this period as one in which the sector became increasingly fragmented—or one in which its leaders recognised that the challenges were bigger than their individual organisations.

The mushrooming of forums may give the appearance of increased representation, but without coordination, it risks producing fragmentation, duplication and confusion.

The future requires something different.

Collaboration before competition.

Coordination before duplication.

Synergy before fragmentation.

We do not necessarily need fewer voices.

We need those voices to find common ground, and, when the future of our sector and our learners is at stake, to speak with one powerful, coherent voice.

Dr Wesley Hermanus
Businuss and , Education and Training Strategist

Welcome Hon Cassim. He said he is not here to cut ribbons. Lets make a difference together.

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You are invited to the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) webinar taking place on 30 June 2026. The topic for discussion is: Unfurling Post-School Education and Training (UPSET) Community Qualification-related Questions.

The webinar will clarify qualification-related system changes affecting the UPSET community, including the transition from South Africa’s eight-level NQF to the 10-level NQF and the phasing out of legacy qualifications.

Participants will also hear responses to questions raised collectively by Articulation Hubs, HEIs and TVET college communities working to support learning pathways, joint qualification development and student transition through articulation.

Join the conversation and be part of strengthening articulation within South Africa’s post-school education and training system.

Register here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/z6sRu7ywCK?origin=lprLink

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NSDPA Opinion: South Africa's Qualification Transition Risks Leaving Learners and Providers Behind

The National Skills Development Providers Association (NSDPA) notes the media briefing delivered by Minister Buti Manamela, supported by leadership from the QCTO, SAQA, the National Skills Authority, and the Department of Higher Education and Training regarding the transition from legacy (pre-2009) qualifications to occupational qualifications.

While the objectives behind the transition are admirable and have merit in principle, the NSDPA believes that the realities on the ground paint a far more concerning picture than the optimistic narrative often presented by policymakers.

For more than a decade, skills development providers have been adapting to a continuously changing regulatory environment. During this period, providers have invested millions of rands in infrastructure, learning material development, quality management systems, accreditation compliance, assessor and moderator capacity, and learner support services. Yet many now find themselves navigating a system plagued by uncertainty, administrative complexity, and implementation delays.

The question is not whether occupational qualifications are conceptually superior to legacy qualifications. The question is whether the occupational qualifications system is sufficiently mature, resourced, and capable of delivering on its promises.

Unfortunately, evidence suggests that significant challenges remain.

Many occupational qualifications have taken years to move from development to implementation. Assessment systems have often struggled to keep pace with qualification development. Certification delays continue to frustrate learners and employers alike. Workplace placement opportunities remain scarce in many sectors, along with EISA delays, creating a bottleneck that prevents learners from completing qualifications despite having successfully completed the theoretical and practical components.

The result is a system where learners frequently become the unintended victims of policy transition.

The NSDPA acknowledges the recent extension granted to the majority of legacy qualifications, with 534 of the 630 qualifications reportedly receiving an extension. This intervention provides important relief to providers and learners. However, the extension itself should not be mistaken for a resolution of the underlying challenges. The sector continues to face uncertainty regarding implementation readiness, learner articulation pathways, workplace-based learning opportunities, assessment capacity, and the pace at which occupational qualifications can effectively absorb learner demand. The focus must therefore shift from qualification extensions to ensuring that the occupational qualifications ecosystem is fully capable of supporting a sustainable transition.

South Africa cannot afford a transition that reduces access to learning opportunities under the guise of improving quality.

A qualification framework is only as effective as its ability to produce competent graduates at scale. If the new system results in fewer learners being enrolled, fewer learners completing programmes, or fewer providers being able to participate in delivery, then the country risks undermining its own skills development objectives.

Equally concerning is the increasing compliance burden placed on providers. While quality assurance is essential, the regulatory environment has become increasingly difficult to navigate, particularly for small and medium-sized providers that lack extensive administrative capacity. The unintended consequence may be the gradual consolidation of the sector into fewer, larger institutions, reducing diversity, innovation, and access.

The NSDPA further cautions against the perception that legacy qualifications have somehow failed South Africa. Many of these programmes produced thousands of competent artisans, administrators, managers, sales professionals, and technical specialists who continue to contribute meaningfully to the economy today. The challenge has never been the qualifications alone. The challenge has been broader issues including economic growth, labour absorption, workplace opportunities, and systemic inefficiencies.

Occupational qualifications should therefore be viewed as an evolution rather than a wholesale correction of a failed past.

The NSDPA calls on the Minister of Higher Education and Training, QCTO, SAQA, SETAs, and industry stakeholders to focus on the following priorities:

- Ensure that learners enrolled in legacy qualifications are provided with clear transition pathways, uninterrupted access to assessments and certification, and recognition of achievements already attained.
- Reduce unnecessary administrative burdens on providers.
- Improve certification turnaround times.
- Address EISA capacity constraints and assessment backlogs.
- Expand workplace placement opportunities through stronger employer partnerships.
- Provide greater transparency regarding qualification development and implementation timelines.
- Engage providers as strategic partners rather than merely regulated entities.

The success of the occupational qualifications system will not be measured by the number of legacy qualifications that are discontinued. It will be measured by whether more South Africans obtain meaningful qualifications, secure employment, and contribute to economic growth.

The NSDPA supports reform. However, reform must be practical, inclusive, and evidence-based. A qualification system that works well on paper but struggles in implementation serves neither learners nor the economy.

South Africa's skills development challenges require more than structural change. They require a system that is responsive, adequately resourced, and grounded in the realities faced by learners, employers, and providers every day.

Until these concerns are addressed, the transition from legacy qualifications to occupational qualifications remains a work in progress.

National Skills Development Providers Association (NSDPA)

Advocating for Providers. Protecting Learners. Strengthening Skills Development

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Skills Development at a glance - Context matters!!!