Skills Development : FP&M SETA
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The Fibre Processing & Manufacturing (FP&M) SETA
Introduction
The Fibre Processing and Manufacturing (FP&M) SETA was established by the Minister of Higher Education and Training on 1 April 2011 after government took a decision to cluster sectors in order to strengthen value-chain linkages between related industries. The FP&M SETA mandate is:
- to provide skills development services to the clothing, footwear, forestry, furniture, general goods, leather, packaging, print media, printing, publishing, pulp and paper, textiles and wood products sectors;
- to implement the objectives of the National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS III); and
- to ensure that people obtain the critical or scarce skills that are needed to build the capacity of the sector to become economically sustainable and globally competitive.
The
intention of NSDS III is to:
- increase access to training and skills development opportunities;
- transform inequities linked to class, race, gender, age and disability;
- address the challenges of skills shortages and mismatches;
- improve productivity in the economy; and
- increase the focus on skills development linked to rural development
The value
added by SETAs is their understanding of labour market issues in their
respective industrial and economic sectors. SETAs must "create interventions
and shape solutions that address skills needs within their sectors".
Central to
the objectives of the NSDS III is improved placement of both students and
graduates, especially from the FET colleges and universities of technology. There
is no value in training people if they are not given the opportunity to apply
the skills they have learnt in the workplace.
But skills
development is not just for young people starting their first jobs - the skills
of people already in jobs must also be enhanced. NSDS III also encourages the
training of employed workers in order to improve overall productivity and to
address skills imbalances within the workforce and the labour market.
It is therefore the responsibility of the FP&M SETA
to oversee the development of occupational qualifications linked to career
pathways, in partnership with industry and educational institutions. This
process must be focused on the progression of learners (both existing employees
and new entrants) through the ranks and must prepare them to take
responsibility for the future growth and sustainability of the FP&M sector
in the medium to long term.
It will be
the role of the FP&M SETA to build relationships between the educational
institutions in the post-schooling arena such as universities, universities of
technology, public and private further education and training (FET)
institutions and workplaces in order to facilitate the placement of learners /
students and graduates in workplaces for work experience and internships.
What is
our vision and mission?
Our vision to be recognized as a credible and
effective skills development partner ensuring the delivery of service
excellence that will produce a highly-skilled world-class workforce through
various skills development interventions.
According
to its mission statement, the FP&M
SETA will:
- identify skills priorities and needs based on collaborative input from all key stakeholder groups within the FP&M sector;
- develop quality occupationally-directed learning programmes;
- implement an integrated skills development qualifications framework to promote skills acquisition, career planning and access to the world of work; and
- provide opportunities for all, including the latent demands of SMMEs and the unemployed, in satisfying the national skills development needs.
What is the structure of the FP&M SETA Board?
The strategic leadership of the SETA is the responsibility of the FP&M SETA Board which comprises equal labour and employer representation and is representative of all sectors. The Board is chaired by an independent chairperson who was appointed by the Minister of Higher Education and Training. A further two independent members have been appointed to serve on the FP&M SETA Board.
What is the scope of coverage of the FP&M SETA?
The FP&M SETA serves the following fibre processing and manufacturing sectors:
Sector | Nature of operations |
Clothing | Manufacture of products such as mens-, ladies- and childrenswear, underwear, sportswear, outerwear and millinery items such as hats and caps. |
Footwear | Manufacture of footwear (from leather or other products) |
Forestry | Cultivation, development and management of forests and the processing of lumber into timber for use in e.g. construction or as components in wood products / furniture. |
Furniture | The manufacture of furniture from wood or other materials such as steel, concrete, cane or plastic. Also include upholstery, curtaining and furnishing of ships. |
General Goods | Manufacture of general goods and handbags (including luggage/travel goods, belts and saddlery items) from leather or other products. |
Leather | Tanning and dressing of leather (processing of a variety of hides and skins). |
Packaging | Manufacture of paper and paperboard (also corrugated); containers of paper and paperboard; and manufacturing of metal containers such as cans and tins. |
Print Media | Publishing (and printing) of newspapers, magazines and periodicals |
Printing | Printing of newspapers and magazines, books, labels and other related materials. Graphic design, manufacture and display of signs, advertising displays and other graphic media products. |
Publishing | Publishing of books, company brochures, musical books and many other publications and the publishing of recorded media and other publishing activities. |
Pulp and Paper, | Production of pulp for use in paper mills for the manufacture of a diverse range of papers including paperboard, business paper, tissue paper, and paper used in the printing of books, newspapers and magazines and the recycling of paper. |
Textiles | Manufacture of textile products through various processes, for example, the spinning of yarn from natural or man-made fibres, the weaving/knitting of fabrics from spun yarn, the dyeing and printing of fabrics, the manufacture of textile floor coverings (carpets), the manufacture of flock and felt products and the manufacture of industrial (performance) textiles. |
Wood Products | Manufacture of panels and boards, builder's carpentry and joinery, pallets and bulk bins, Other articles of wood, cork, straw and plaiting materials, including woodcarving and woodturning. |
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE FP&M SECTOR
Learning opportunities geared towards careers in the FP&M sector lie primarily in the FET and HET education bands. Individuals who meet the entry requirements may register for one of the many FET and HET qualifications that focus on scarce skills within the sector. Many public and private learning institutions and workplace training provider institutions also provide skills programmes and short courses addressing the critical skills and specializations within specific organisations.
What are
scarce and critical skills?
Scarce skills refer to an
insufficient number of qualified and experienced people in specific occupations
and scarce skills shortages are usually addressed by the provision of full
(occupational) qualifications offered at HETs or FETs and include programmes
such as diploma- and certificate programmes, vocational qualifications,
apprenticeships and learnerships.
Critical skills refer to the skills
gaps within organisations which limit the organisation's effectiveness and
efficiency, thereby hindering business growth. Critical skills are addressed
through short courses, skills programmes, workshops, seminars and in-house
training.
What
careers are in demand in the FP&M sector?
Technology
and the market environment in the FP&M sector are continuously changing. Therefore,
building a career within the sector will increasingly depend on acquiring the
scarce skills that are in demand within the sector, as well as a dedication to
continuous learning.
Scarce skills (or occupations in demand) in the
FP&M Sector are found across a range of occupational categories:
OCCUPATIONAL CATEGORY |
OCCUPATION (SPECIALISATION) |
Managers |
Human resources, training and education, logistics, production and quality management; |
Professionals |
Work study officers, designers (including fashion and graphic designers), industrial engineers, forest scientists and sales and marketing specialists; |
Technicians and trades workers |
Technologists and technicians (specializing in different disciplines), fitters and turners, printers, carpenters, upholsterers, patternmakers and mechanics; |
Community and personal service workers |
Fire fighters (forestry); |
Clerical and administrative workers |
Cost clerks, production co-ordinators and environmental practices inspectors; |
Machinery operators and drivers |
Clothing machinists, paper and pulp operators and mobile plant operators; |
Elementary workers |
Sawmill or timber yard workers, harvesters and printing table workers. |
(A
complete list of scarce skills is available from our website: www.fpmseta.org.za)
There is a growing demand for technically skilled and
creative people in the sector, especially within the professional and
technician categories. This is indicative of the technically progressive and
globally competitive environment in which the sector operates.
The market is increasingly demanding new cost effective
production processes to meet the global need for cost effective consumer goods.
At the same time, there is a need for innovative and unique products to create
and sustain niche markets.
The future success of the FP&M sector will depend on
its capacity to master advanced technology domains, to innovate and to meet the
needs of customers in terms of quality, price and delivery.
LEARNERSHIP IMPLEMENTATION IN THE FP&M
SECTOR
What is accreditation?
The
National Skills Development Strategy encourages training provider institutions to
develop appropriate human and physical resources to deliver training that will
lead to the achievement of relevant qualifications, producing graduates that are
work-ready and capable to enter the labour market. For this reason, public and
private learning institutions and workplace training provider institutions have
to be audited to determine the organisation's capacity to provide NQF aligned credit
bearing programmes, resulting in a formally recognized qualification.
Accreditation
is the certification process whereby an ETQA formally acknowledges that an
organisation or person has met set criteria and has the capacity to provide
learning programmes leading to qualifications or part qualifications at agreed
national standards. The ETQA will continuously monitor the provision by
providers to ensure compliance.
In
the FP&M sector, many workplace training provider institutions have been
accredited to deliver training programmes including learnerships and
apprenticeships leading to national qualifications thereby empowering enterprises
to train their employees at their own time and on their own premises.
What are
learnerships?
Learnerships
are work-based education and training programmes where learners will receive
workplace (practical) and theoretical training that has minimum quality
learning standards and is directly linked to the National Qualifications
Framework (NQF). Learnerships are demand-led and
cover technical and non-technical occupations. A
person who successfully completes a learnership will have a qualification that
signifies occupational competence and is recognised throughout all sectors of
the economy.
Why were
learnerships introduced?
- To fast track the development of current employees and provide them with the opportunity to acquire a formal qualification.
- To serve as an entry point for school leavers, graduates or unemployed people into the workplace and to give them the opportunity to acquire a qualification.
How do
learnerships work in practice?
Employers
recruit learners for learnerships either from within their organisations i.e.
already employed people or from outside the organisation i.e. unemployed
learners. Unemployed learners are employed by an employer for the duration of
the learnership with the objective to achieve specific workplace learning
outcomes.
Successful candidates sign a Learnership
Agreement with the employer and an accredited training provider, before
training commences. The Learnership Agreement spells out the duties and
obligations of the parties. In most cases the lead training provider will offer
the theoretical part of the programme and the employer will provide the
practical (workplace) component of the learnership programme. A workplace
mentor / coach is appointed to guide the learner through the workplace learning
component and an assessor is appointed to assess the learner for applied
competence. In some instances, the employer (workplace training provider) may
be able to offer both elements of the learnership.
The
same working conditions that apply to employees of the organisation will also
apply to learners including health and safety regulations and working hours.
Due to the nature of the sector, shift work is often required.
For the duration of the learnership, unemployed learners receive training
allowances as prescribed by Sectoral Determination No 5: Learnerships. Employed
learners remain on the terms and conditions of their Employment Contract.
What is the SETA's role in learnerships?
The FP&M SETA's role is to quality assure the provision of
learning through the accreditation of providers and to monitor the provision of
the learnership programmes. On completion of the learnership programmes, the
SETA will verify the assessments and moderations conducted and if satisfied
with the outcome, will certify learners as competent against a nationally
recognized qualification. The SETA therefore ensures skills development meets
nationally agreed goals and acceptable standards. It is the quality assurance
authority that drives learnerships and is responsible for delivery of new
qualifications.
What are
the benefits of participating in learnerships?
For
learners -
- Provides a recognized qualification which can be obtained in the workplace (while earning some income);
- Recognizes and formalizes current employee's experience and knowledge gained through many years of experience;
- Provides a route to employment or self-employment; and
- Provides a learner with practical, on-the-job experience and relevant theoretical knowledge.
For employers -
- Well-established pool of appropriately skilled employees (existing employees and new entrants);
- Increased turnover because of productive and highly skilled workers;
- Successful recruitment, as the employer will be able to retain performing new entrants;
- Highly motivated, creative and innovative workforce, because of increased levels of skills and participation in the success of the company; and
- Opportunity to apply for discretionary grant funding and benefit from tax incentives.
What is an apprenticeship?
An Apprenticeship is a non-unit standard based registered
qualification, which is governed by sections (13) and (28) of the Manpower
Training Act (No 56 of 1981). An apprenticeship comprises the integration of
workplace and institutional learning and culminates in a national qualification.
Apprenticeship programmes are longer in duration than learnerships (2-3 years)
and require the successful completion of a national trade test in order to
qualify as an artisan.
How to get involved in a
learnership or apprenticeship?
- Unemployed learners or work seekers must register at the nearest Labour Centre of the Department of Labour (ID and CV required).
- Employers eligible to take on external learners, can contact the Department of Labour, who will nominate learners registered on their database, based on the selection criteria of the Learnership/Apprenticeship
- Potential learners should also scan daily newspapers for opportunities to apply.
Note: it is the employers that
recruit learners and not the SETA.
CONTACT
DETAILS
Gauteng:
Forum
1, 2nd Floor, Braampark Office Park,
33
Hoofd Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001
P.O.
Box 31276, Braamfontein , 2017
Tel:
011-403 1700
Fax: 011-403 1718
Western Cape:
3rd
Floor, West Wing, Palms Centre, Sir Lowry Road,
Woodstock,
Cape Town, 7925
P.O.
Box 351, Woodstock, 7915
Tel:
021-462 0057
Fax: 021-462 0039
Kwazulu-Natal
3rd
Floor, Umdoni Centre,
28
Crompton Street, Pinetown, 3601
P.O.
Box 935, Pinetown, 3600
Tel:
031-702 4482
Fax 031-7024113