The Skills Development Submissions period for 2021 is now in full swing – here’s what businesses need to know.
What is the Skills Development Submissions period?
This period, stretching from January to 30 April each year, is the time during which a company’s Skills Development Facilitator will compile the Workplace Skills Plan and Annual Training Report (WSP/ATR) and submit these to the SETA with which the company is registered. These documents allow companies to obtain Skills Development funding from SETAs, showing what Skills Development initiatives have been implemented in the past year and what are planned for the coming year.
It is important to know that SETAs allocate Discretionary Grant funding only to training planned for in the WSP and so companies need to plan ahead if they wish to obtain funding.
What you need to know
Your Skills Development Facilitator (SDF) will request the following documentation from you at the start of the submission period. This includes:
- Proof of training completed in the past year
- Your Workforce profile
- Planned statutory (mandatory) training for the year ahead
- Planned discretionary/additional training planned for the year ahead
Upon receipt of this information, your SDF will compile a Workplace Skills Plan and Annual Training Report.
Using this information, your SDF will build your Skills Development profile for the SETA with which you are registered, using their online systems.
Once you have signed off the WSP/ATR, your SDF will submit that to your SETA.
Following this, the SETA allocates Mandatory and Discretionary Grants for implementing your training interventions.
It is of critical importance that companies plan for their Skills Development during this time, and be ready to submit their WSP/ATR by 30 April each year. This allows them to gain funding from SETAs which relieves the financial strain of training, it enables a great HR/ER initiative to let employees know how their business is planning on developing the individuals and supporting their career goals, and it provides structure and strategy to training for an organisation.
For companies participating in B-BBEE, submitting a WSP/ATR is a prerequisite for verification on their Skills Development element, Without these WSP/ATR submissions before 30 April each year, a BEE verification will not consider the Skills Development element and companies will lose out on those BEE points.
Why do you need an SDF during this submission period?
Skills Development Facilitators are dedicated experts that can ensure your Skills Development implementation with strategy and expertise in the legislative environment. SETA systems have many prerequisites and are often complicated, and your SDF will know how to use these systems.
Using an SDF, your Skills Development will be aligned with your SETA’s training priorities to ensure that you are truly contributing to your sector’s Skills Development interventions.