THE ROLE OF CHAMBER COMMITTEES IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SECTOR SKILLS PLAN AT merSETA

Abstract

The Skills Development Act of 1998 was introduced to usher in the new skills development trajectory in the post 1994 SA. SETAs, intermediary bodies, were established to oversee processes for the development and implementation of Sector Skills Plans, an important instrument for industry skills planning through the mobilisation of industry stakeholder sub-sectoral – Chamber committees. These interventions were meant, through SSP processes tailored to respond to industry skills shortages, to contribute in increasing productivity at workplaces and, in the process, create economic opportunities to address poverty, unemployment and inequality in the country. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of SSPs from the merSETA Chamber Committee perspective. The analysis of the findings points at the existence of complexities and gaps in respect to the planning, implementation and the evaluation of the SSP. The analysis further suggests a need for a revised and a much more industry specific and policy aligned SSP process, with clearly defined outcomes and appropriately designed implementation, monitoring and evaluation tools for maximum and inclusive participation for enhancing ownership, and buy-in into the process by the participating industry stakeholders.