Transport Education and Training Authority & Mining Qualifications Authority on their 2015/16 Annual Performance & Strategic Plans

Meeting report

Mining Qualifications Authority Strategic Plan 2015-2020

Mr Davis Msiza, Chairperson of the MQA Board believes that educational skills address poverty, unemployment and inequality. The MQA will collaborate with stakeholders to assist the youth, women, miners and ex-miners. The strategic plan was in line with the relevant legislation, the National Development Plan and the presidential package. Bursary administration was no longer outsourced. It used to have challenges in ensuring that it achieves every target it sets and performance agreements for senior managers were aligned to the strategic plan. The MQA strives to maintain a clean audit.

Mr Sam Seepei, Chief Executive Officer, MQA, presented the strategic plan. The MQA environment was influenced by government imperatives such as revitalisation of distressed mining towns, Operation and Mining Phakisa and SIPs – Waterberg. Economic factors include softening global and mining economic outlook. Environmental issues include green skills. Social dynamics include mining retrenchments, expectation for meaningful development and participation of hosting mining communities; and mechanisation of the mining sector.

Strategic goals were:

• Support transformation of the sector through skills development
• Support objective decision making for skills development through research in the sector
• Enhance knowledge management for skills development in the sector
• To run an efficient, effective and transparent corporate governance system within the legislative framework
• Implement the monitoring, evaluation and review of the delivery capacity and quality of training and development in the sector
• Facilitate and support the implementation of core sector skills and develop programmes aligned to the sector qualification

The total budget for these program was R812 243 000.

Discussion

Ms M Nkadimeng (ANC) said the NDP and national skills development strategy point the importance of skills for graduates and asked the reasons for under achievement in the placements of interns.

Ms S Mchunu (ANC) wanted MQA to help in eliminating poverty, unemployment and inequality. She asked the effect of establishing MQA offices in TVETs colleges and what skills were earmarked for mineral beneficiation. MQA must put more effort to ensure that targets were smarts.

Ms E Siwela (ANC) said given the history of failure to meet targets, how far was MQA able to meet skills shortage in South Africa. He asked if there was evidence to show transformation in the mining sector and asked if it was working with NSFAS in distributing bursaries.

Ms M Mbata (EFF) asked the reasons for the increase in cost for training artisans annually. He asked if MQA targets families where parents were employed in mines or the whole communities so that they do not become carriers of the father’s job.

Ms J Kilian (ANC) asked the criterion used in awarding bursaries between financial difficulty and scarce skills. He asked how it measures its impact on placements and the mining sector. She was impressed by the situational analyses presented.

Mr Msiza replied that it had not previously achieved all targets, but it was working with the Department to put smart targets.

Mr Seepei replied that retrenchments were continuing and this was a problem and mines were also scaling down operations making it difficult to measure the impact. Regional offices have helped motivate youth for careers in mining and bursaries have helped increase the number regionally by 25%. Transformation was there if retrenchments were excluded and the number of women entering the mining sector was increases. Bursaries were awarded by MQA. The cost for training artisans have increased from R90 00, to 129 00 to R150 000. Criteria for awarding bursaries was academic excellence and scarce skills needed. The monitoring and evaluation unit was set up last year and it was still evaluating the impact.

Dr B Bozzoli (DA) said at Medupi, the quality of welders was questioned and foreign welders had to come in to undo all the welding that was done. She asked how was the MQA work viewed by companies that employ its people. The mining sector was mechanising and how was the MQA responding to that including involving itself in robotics.

Ms Mchunu said the lecturer training support was 70% male and 30% female and females must be treated equal to men.

Ms Killian asked if there were other affordable courses and if the bursaries were renewable

The Chairperson asked why revitalisation of distressed mining towns was not happening in Carolina. She does not see how and where the MQA helps retrenched miners. She asked the plan to reduce youth unemployment, impact on beneficiation since 2011, why administration budget increased and the effect of the decrease on discretionary grants.

Ms Msiza replied it does not communicate well some of its successes and challenges. It will put measure to improve gender representation. Regional offices engage the local municipality, province and communities on which skills were required.

Mr Seepei replied mining colleges were responsive to the needs of the mining houses. Medupi welders came from everywhere not just from MQA. It offers full bursaries renewable on satisfactory progress.  It needs to communicate more on what it does to young people, but the Committee must support an increase in budget. On beneficiation, it was specialising more on jewellery, but was now expanding to granite, coal and platinum. Lecturer support was based on the number of women employed as academics and MQA does not have an influence over this.

Mr Yunus Omar, MQA Chief Financial Officer, replied that the budget increase was caused by new regional offices that were opened that needed new staff and some of the places it was given at FET colleges had to be refurbished.

Mr Msiza appreciated the opportunity to come to address the Committee and the comments will help it strengthen weaknesses.

The Chairperson said the country was in a phase of radical socio economic transformation. The more it achieved in the past twenty years, the more challenges it discovers. Add the flavour of radicalism to your work to achieve NDP goals, address poverty, unemployment and inequality.  The strategic plan was commended by the auditor general as meeting treasury regulations.

Transport Education and Training Authority 2015/16 Annual Performance Plan

Ms Maphefo Anno-Frempong, TETA Chief Executive Officer, said TETA head office was in Randburg. TETA comprises of eight chambers / subsectors namely aerospace, maritime, rail, road freight, road transport, taxi, freight handling, and clearing and forwarding. Two coastal offices strategically positioned to cater for Maritime and Freight Handling sub-sectors; while the other six chambers were located in the Head Office and have provincial foci in their KRAs. It has 3 TVET offices in Limpopo – Lephalale, Vhembe and Senwabarwana and staff complement of 103

The Transport Sector is characterized by several challenges that impact and inform the delivery of skill development solutions in this sector, as follows

• Women and are under-represented in the transport sector
• A large number of transport companies are either exempted from paying skills levies or operate informally.
• Casualization of employment is a peculiarity of the Transport sector.
• HIV/AIDS has impacted negatively on the Sector and the level of infection is above the national average in Road subsector
• Of the 50 TVET colleges, only 8 offer Transport-related NCV.
• Management development remains a critical area for redress of skills disparities in the Transport Sector, especially for women and young people.
• Carbon emissions from road transport activities pose a threat to the environment
• Limited credible Labour Market data could lead to under-investment in critical skills and over-investment in less critical skills.

Strategic goals were to establish a credible transport sector, institutional mechanism for skills planning, create and sustain research capacity on labour markets within TETA; increase access to occupationally directed programmes within the transport sector; strengthening the quality assurance system; a post-school strategy for youth for further access and work experience to improve employability; cooperatives, NGOs, CBOs AND SMME initiatives support and sustainability. The capped total spending for TETA for the 2015/16 Financial Year is R626, 7 million and the total expected revenue is R643, 8 million. TETA will apply to National Treasury through the Department of Higher Education and Training for the removal of the expenditure capping as the Annual Performance Plan for 2015/16 would be underfunded by R17,1 million

Discussion

Mr Siwela said given the complexity of the transport sector in the country, how were the provinces benfiting from the programs of TETA other than Gauteng and Limpopo. In what way will TETA call and train labour unions and non-governmental organisations?

Ms Killian commended the comprehensive strategic plan. She asked the link with Department of Transport (DOT), its effect on the taxi industry, whether it was looking to taxi industry for business development. There was a bad image on the taxi industry that needs to be turned around. She asked if it was necessary to go for an international development program abroad.

Ms Mchune said there was need for more awareness on the need of female taxi drivers and pilots. She asked why the three TVETs colleges were in Limpopo. She asked the spread of the adopt a school program in provinces and whether it caters for youth with disabilities.

Ms Nkadimeng asked if bursaries beneficiaries for this year had been identified and why only three TVETs offer a NCV qualification in transport.

Mr Mbatha asked the number of women and black Africans in the aerospace industry. He asked the relationship between TETA and taxi car assemblers. There had been no new generation of courses at historically disadvantaged institutions for example; the University of Free State campus in Qwaqwa offers a course in geography and transport to cover Guateng, KwaZulu Natal and Mpumalanga

Ms Anno-Frempong replied that it reaches to all provinces through DOT. Three TVETs in Limpopo were established because of an agreement with the Department. Targets were informed by previous experience and the sector skills plan. A call was opened to NGOs and community based organisation and the 10 labour unions were free to apply, if none applies, it does stakeholder meetings. It has a good working relationship with DOT for example, it taught the taxi industry on good client service before the 2010 world cup. It has been taking taxi drivers abroad to learn about being involved in the courier business to their clients which they currently offer for free, but paid leg and arm for a courier. The sector skills plan was signed by DOT before being sent to the Department. In Free State, there was a driving school for the disabled. It cannot help train all drivers, but those it trains were good drivers. It was necessary to take people overseas as the cost was well invested for. It was not able to send people to overseas, but it will create alumni to train people in South Africa on what they have learnt. More needed to be done to train female drivers and pilots. School in the adopt a school program were four in western cape, four in Mpumalanga, four in Limpopo, six in North West, Eastern Cape four, Gauteng eight and four in Northern Cape selected by the Department. It does train disabled people when it comes across them. Eight TVETs offered the NCV in transport because there were no enough tutors. There were few youngsters in aviation industry and it will commission research on the possibility of pilots finishing their training and getting a job. Courses from universities were not generational and it had been supporting Walter Sisulu to become a competitive institution. It was also working with Fort Hare, Western Cape and North West. At Nelson Mandela, it was establishing capacity for it to offer maritime studies. It has no collaboration with Free State yet.

The Chairperson asked it to share on the 2013/14 audit recommendation. She asked the reason for not prioritising taxi drivers when people were dying every day.

Mr J Dube, TETA Board Chairperson, replied that it discussed in the last board meeting road carnage and will discuss it further with DOT, but it was not necessarily taxi drivers, as private cars also drive on the roads. Most taxi drivers were once bus or truck drivers.

Mr Simon Ndukwana, TETA CFO, replied it got an unqualified audit opinion on performance information. Duplication of data and commitments not met were identified

The Chairperson said there was a budget reduction of R17 million and asked how it was going to adjust to deliver on its mandate.

Mr Ndukwana replied it had made an application to the Department to have the capping removed. For the past twelve years, it gets more than expected and always delivers on its mandate.

The Chairperson said the country was operating in a radical transformation phase and it can be assisted if it changes its approach to radicalism. The training of career guidance teachers need to be accelerated as most students were dropping from TVETs and universities because they simply do not know. Reprioritise budget cuts to deliver on your mandate by taking innovation from its values. Respond to road carnage to make the nation alive and safe. Thank you

The meeting was adjourned.