Workplace Skills Planning

Drafting of WSP, ATR & Pivotal Report (SDF)

1.1 The requirement

The annual WSP/ATR (Skills Development Facilitation) is due to be submitted latest by 30 April 2019 as per the Skills Legislative requirement. Taking the B-BBEE Codes into account in order to achieve points under this element, any company with a turnover of R50 Million or above, needs to comply with this requirement.
Other than the benefit from the B-BBEE prospective, there are additional benefits to compliant stakeholders. (compliant being successful submission of report criteria), being as follows:
- Mandatory Grant (20% of 1%)
- Discretionary Grants Seta funded training initiatives

1.2 Training Committee and Meetings as per the Skills legislative requirement

Steps to complete the project:

Ensuring training committee forums and meetings in place as legislative requirements. (should an EE committee already in place, the same committee can be utilised to represent a training committee)
Consultation with committee and manages to assist with reporting process to the relevant SETA (including WSP finalisation and signing of documents)

1.3 Submission of the Online reports to relevant SETA as per deadline (WSP & ATR)

Collating of information relevant to the submission (meeting where required/email/telephonic)
Ensuring successful on-line reporting of WSP/ATR
Follow up with relevant SETA regarding confirmation letter of successful receipt of report.
Ensuring the roll-outs of the Four (4) mandatory meetings in a 12-month process (minimum),
Receiving training information throughout the period to ensure successful reporting for the following period,
By means of addressing the company’s skills plan (which will become the Workplace Skills Plan for the following period, we hereby assist the client’s means to achieve the desired goals). (Considering the B-BBEE requirement under the Skills Development element)
Assisting in identifying training gaps and suitable training programmes in line with client’s needs and training plan.
Follow up with relevant SETA, regarding Mandatory Grant (20% of 1% SDL)
Assisting Companies with Discretionary Grant funding applications (SETA funded projects to compliant companies)

What are the benefits of participating?

Employers can benefit from financial incentives (Section 12H (a) a SARS incentive) and participants may access funding from respective Seta’s. Organizations will also optimize their B-BBEE compliance by aligning training objectives and will address skills shortages through participation.

What form does the funding take?

The funding takes the form of a cash Grant for
The reimbursement of training costs incurred
Tuition cost of a specific program applied for
Salary/stipend allowance for unemployed learners taking into a program

What happens if I don't pay Skills Development Levies?

Qualifying employers who do not pay Skills Development Levies will be issued with a fine, penalties and interest.

What is the SDL Act?

Employers who fall within the ambits of the Skills Development Levies Act pay a 1% levy of their total salary and wage bill to SARS, for the training and development of employees.

More than half of this contribution is available for the reimbursement of training expenses incurred by the employer in the form of grants, namely mandatory, pivotal and discretionary grant funding, provided they are compliant with requirements as detailed by a SETA.

Who pays SDL?

This Act applies to all employers except the public sector, religious or charity organisations and public entities that get more than 80% of their money from Parliament. Also excluded are employers whose total salary and wage bill is less than R 500 000 per annum.

Where does the money go?

SARS collects all SDL’s of which 20% goes to the National Skills Fund and 80% to the SETAs. SETAs retain 10.5% for their own administration, 0.5% for the Quality Council for Trades and Occupation for quality assurance, 20% is dispersed back to compliant and participating employers (Mandatory Grant) and allocate 49% to their Pivotal pool of funds.

80% of this Pivotal pool of funds is available to employers in the form of a Pivotal Grant (subject to a application and successful submission of a Pivotal Grant Plan) and 20% is reserved for Discretionary funding of compliant employers (subject to application / allocation).

What does my 1% SDL being used for?

The basics

More than half of the contribution is available for the reimbursement (69% of their contributions)
Mandatory (20%)
Pivotal (49%)
Discretionary Grant (not linked to contribution but limited to unclaimed/special project funding)

What is a Mandatory Grant?

This grant entails the reimbursement of 20% of their SDL contribution, subject to:

The employer being up to date with SDL due
The compliant compilation and submission by 30 April (or other date depending on which SETA you are registered with ) of a Workplace Skills Plan (a plan of training to be carried out within the next reporting period)
An Annual Training Report (a report of training undertaken/completed in the previous reporting period including explanations of possible variances)

Participating in the WSP Submission

It is compulsory for a Generic Company to submit a WSP/ATR to the relevant SETA and have it approved as part of the evidentiary requirement under this element of the scorecard.

Where a QSE in terms of the Skills Development Act qualifies to contribute the 1% levy, it will need to have SETA approved WSP before implementing the skills development element. But if exempted from the 1% levy, the QSE will only have to develop a skills development plan for implementing the skills
development element and produce the required proof during measurement for recognition of points