Will your company receive only 20% SETA skills levy refund this year?

[Sylvia F. Hammond]

From this skills development year Mandatory Grant levy refunds will only be 20% of levies paid – that is down from 50% last year.  If you submit your Annual Training Report (ATR) and Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) by 30 June, the Regulations state that 20% is all that you will receive.

However, if you are implementing PIVOTAL programmes you will be entitled to apply for additional grants.  The Regulations define PIVOTAL as follows:

“`PIVOTAL is an acronym’ which means professional, vocational, technical and
academic learning programmes that result in qualifications or part qualifications
on the National Qualifications Framework”.

The Regulations also state that: “A SETA is required to allocate 80% of its available discretionary grants within a financial year to PIVOTAL programmes that address scarce and critical skills in its
sectors.”

A preliminary look at some of the SETA websites reveals that they have not all been updated with the latest discretionary grants available.

So do you know what is happening in your SETA? Have you received information on the revised WSP ATR format from your SETA?  And critically, do you know what additional discretionary grants are available in your sector?

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[Nadia Shaik]

My company is part of Services SETA and with the many deadlines that are looming, we have still not yet received any information regarding the new WSP/ ATR format. This is rather concerning since we are fast approaching May!

 

[Sylvia F. Hammond]

Thanks for that response Nadia – I’ve been asked to add the Regulations to this discussion so that they are easy to find – now attached.

[Janine Basson-Hermanus]

Hi Nadia, actually you first need to complete the Declaration and Verification document which has been on their website since 8 April. Once you have submitted this you will get an email with your activation key which you will use to complete your online WSP and ATR. That is the first step in the process as you know. They also said that there will be training in April with regards to the new format. The new 2012 OFO codes are also available, which means we need to realign again in prep for the submission.  

 

Sylvia as far as I understand SSETA said that this year we will still get our 50% MG payment as this is based on last year’s submission and only next year will we get 20% back… My company already recieved its first payment for the year based on last year’s submission. I also read that come next year the closing date for submissions will be 30 April and no longer 30 June – how true is this?

[Sylvia F. Hammond]

Thanks for that response Janine.  I will see whether I can verify that will some of the other Setas. 

Yes, it is correct next year when we submit for the 2014 – 2015 year that will need to be submitted by the end of April.  Personally, I think that is as much a challenge for the Setas to be ready as it is for us.  Especially those that have all their submissions online – imagine the websites falling over with all of the last minute rush.  Then of course April is usually the month that is full of holidays and short weeks and when so many people go away during school holidays.

There is a facility in the Skills Development Act for Setas to give a one month extension for the submission and I do think that everyone is going to need that next year.

At one Seta roadshow there was a request that they open the online facility prior to the 1 April so that there is more than the month to complete.

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