Article written by Natasha Seris (Skills Development Facililtator – SEESA)
What about Discretionary Grant and Mandatory Grant applications during the current pandemic?
Even though there is a Skills Development Levy break, levy-paying companies were still encouraged to participate in the Skills Development process by submitting their Workplace Skills Plans and applying for Discretionary Grant funding through their relevant SETA.
Due to the current situation, there was another blanket extension granted for submission of the Workplace Skills Plan up until the 31st of July 2020.
What are the steps to follow when applying for Discretionary Grants?
Step 1
Make sure you have planned for your PIVOTAL (Professional, Vocational, Technical and Academic Learning) training in the 2020/2021 Workplace Skills Plan submission, to increase your approval for Discretionary Grant applications.
Take into account that each Sector Educational Training Authority and industry have specific requirements regarding Discretionary Grant Applications and these correspond with the Sector Skills Plan. This Sector Skills Plan is compiled according to previous years’ submissions on scarce and critical skills reported on during the Workplace Skills Plan/Actual Training Report Submissions.
Step 2
Once the relevant Sector Educational Training Authority communicates their window period for applying for Discretionary Grants, the process and due date should be strictly adhered to ensure positive outcomes. Despite COVID-19 and the effect of the national lockdown, all training should still be able to take place as far as possible but keeping the rules and regulations in response to the growing threat of the disease in mind.
Step 3
Each Sector Educational Training Authority will now evaluate the applications and consider this against the budget and Sector Skills Plan, where after successful applications will receive a Memorandum of Agreement. The company will sign this Memorandum of Agreement as
acceptance to proceed with the application with the relevant Sector Training Authority.
As this step also indicates a successful application, your SEESA Skills Development Facilitator will now be able to discuss the costs involved and provide you with the SEESA Discretionary Grant Agreement before the actual implementation process can start.
SEESA Skills Training has always been committed to providing ongoing quality service to our clients and despite the national lockdown, we remain operational to optimally assist and advise our clients to all related legislation.
For assistance or related questions in this regard, please contact your Skills Development Facilitator or SEESA Skills Training Department.