Fasset e-Facts

September 2021

Warm and colourful wishes for this Spring season! South Africans across the spectrum will be celebrating their culture and the diversity of their beliefs and traditions; and this year’s Heritage month is celebrated under the theme “The year of Charlotte Maxeke: Celebrating South Africa’s Intangible Cultural Heritage”. As we preserve our heritage, let’s remember to foster greater social cohesion, nation building and a shared national identity.

Let us also support our young and hardworking Matriculants as they are in the middle of their prelim exams, which end on the 23 September 2021. We rally behind them during this season and we wish them all the best.

The past 18-months has led the South African economy to its knees as the ongoing deadly virus was introduced in South Africa on March 5, 2020.To this date, there are approximately 1.2 million cases reported leading to 82 914 deaths in South Africa. In remembrance of the lives lost due to Covid-19, Fasset opted to celebrate the heritage of tree planting on 3 September 2021 to pay respect to the lives that were taken. The Fasset staff members planted the indigenous Coco Palm tree at their office premises as a symbol of honour and recognition; and this symbol will live on for future generations.

Fasset would like to measure the readership of eFacts; and gauge if the content is valuable to you. Please e-mail us at info@fasset.org.za to send us your suggestions or feedback about the newsletter content. Please note that no personal information will be captured, we will only be monitoring readership. To stay up to date with what's happening at Fasset, please read below, or visit the website: www.fasset.org.za

We wish you a happy heritage month.

Yours truly
Ayanda Mafuleka CA(SA)
CEO

Fasset welcomes new interns

It gives us great pleasure to announce the appointment of six (6) new interns from the 1st September 2021; we welcome them to the team and wish them all the success in their careers:

Name & Surname	Division	Qualifications
1. Mr. Botshelo Kgopa	ICT	Honours Computer Science
2. Ms. Johanna Diphofa	Labour Relations Office	Bachelor Arts in Labour Relations Management
3. Ms. Denise-Sydney Laminie	Marcoms	Bachelor of Design in Communication
4. Mr. Lakhe Thwala	CEO’s Office	B-Tech in Journalism
5. Mr. Gibson Mangwani	Audit, Risk & Compliance office	Advanced Diploma in Internal Auditing
6. Ms. Ntokozo Nzimande	Company Secretary	Bachelor of Laws (LLB)

Inter-SETA Transfers

Fasset has an obligation to ensure that companies that are transferring into Fasset actually belong in the sector. Of late, Fasset has received many Inter-SETA Transfer (IST) applications for organisations that do not belong in the Fasset sector. Many of these organisations want to take advantage of the benefits that Fasset provides to its members. In the interests of being accountable to its stakeholders and being accountable for public funds, Fasset does scrutinise the IST applications and has turned down those that do not fit squarely into the Fasset sector.

The Workplace Skills Plan is a powerful management resource

Succession planning is undoubtedly one of the most important risks that any business or organisation must manage. No event in history has driven home the importance of succession planning more powerfully than the tragic events of 9/11, and the current Covid-19 related deaths. While it is clearly impossible to have succession plans in place to deal with such devastating losses, succession planning remains critically important, nevertheless. When not in place, the impact can be very negative and on the contrary, with succession planning in place most organisatons are able to continue functioning without missing a beat despite the deaths of key staff.

Where does this leave companies in South Africa, given the fact that the skills pool is very small, and the fact that talent is extremely mobile, and open to the highest bidder, often beyond our borders? Levy payers in South Africa are very fortunate: although often undervalued, the Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) is one of the most powerful tools that managers have at their disposal in their arsenal of management tools. Admittedly, there are some organisations that still perceive the WSP as a necessary evil, and something that needs to be completed as quickly as possible: these organisations have missed the boat completely. Properly deployed, the WSP is a powerful management resource. The WSP should be deployed to assist the organisation to manage its succession planning and talent management.

Undoubtedly, one of its greatest strengths is the fact that the WSP compels organisations to look more holistically at the skills levels within their organisation than they may have done previously. Deployed optimally, it ensures that human resources are developed and used optimally throughout the organisation. The WSP is a living skills audit. As such, it should be used to address skills gaps and vulnerabilities, and to identify individuals who should be “grown” and developed to meet future skills needs at every level within the organisation.

Given the dire skills shortages in South Africa, and the fact that human capital is very mobile, the WSP should be used to identify and develop more than one candidate for specific positions within the organisation. By developing a number of talented individuals with the potential to be promoted into a particular position, there will always be a potential successor waiting in the wings. Succession planning is far too important to leave to chance. There is no denying the fact that within a highly competitive environment, people are often the only differentiator within a business. It makes business sense for organisations to develop their greatest asset, their people, and to do so, strategically.

Setas have a very important role to play in this regard: they need to change mindsets and to encourage their stakeholders to leverage their WSP as a strategic management tool to enable them to gain a competitive advantage. Through well crafted WSPs, companies can enjoy also a suite of Seta-funded benefits and incentives, such as bursaries for employees, access to discretionary and mandatory funding; and attending free training workshops. If you need guidance on how to get started with Fasset, and how to take advantage of the Seta's offerings, please click here to learn more; alternatively please contact our call centre at 086 101 0001.

The emerging technologies and implications on skills development for Fasset

The world is currently undergoing major changes perpetuated by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and Emerging Technologies (ETs). The observation in South Africa and other parts of the world is that technological innovation is taking place at unprecedented speed and is often manifested in the 4IR discourse. The signs of existence of the 4IR relate to the various deployment of sophisticated ways of work such as the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, big data analytics, augmented reality, blockchain, cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT) and 3D printing to name a few.

Fasset conducted a research study honing into emerging technologies and their implications on skills development and training for the Finance and Accounting Services (FAS) sector. The primary focus of the study was to understand (broadly) the impact of emerging technologies in FAS sector skills development and training; and how employers gain competitive edge through its human capital implications.

The following findings were revealed:

It was found that 4IR is desrupting some jobs in the Finance and Accounting Services sector. And in order to remain relevant, continuous professional development needs to be implemeneted through short term skills programmes.

As a result of 4IR in th sector, the future skills needs willl include data analytics, cybersecurity and cloud computing, among others.

From the Emerging Technologies and 4IR study, these emerging occupations were identified: data scientists, product designers, AI & Robotics managers, cybersecurity specialists among others.

The study finds that there was a shift in training provision, which includes conducting of learning and training in virtual methods; including virtual examinations. It is anticpated that in the near future, education and training may take place more virtually; and the infrastructure to support that needs to be improved.

The implication of 4IR for Fasset is that, the systems to process learner information will need to improve in order to ensure paperless and effiecient record keeping. Many training providers and professional bodies are already implementing this, and Fasset has to do the same to align itself with its stakeholders and to the technological developments taking place in the sector.

The conclusion drawn in this study reveals that while internet penetration levels in South Africa compare relatively well with several economies, there are still strides to be made in data affordability (in particular for learning) and improvement of internet connectivity infrastructure. It is further learned that for the training and learning to take place conveniently, infrastructure development should include strengthening network coverage, providing digital learning tools (i.e. laptops, tables and so forth) and decrease or even scraping data costs on learning sites.

Fasset Bursary Scheme paves way for students to succeed

Entry into tertiary education provides students from low-income families with an opportunity to improve their personal, family and economic situation. However, it becomes an extreme challenge for students to succeed when their economic circumstances have an impact on their ability to achieve academic success.

Students' experiences may be impacted if adequate financial resources are not available for further education. However, Fasset opted to invest in the disadvantaged students with potential by offering the FASSET Bursary Scheme that covers all study related expenses; and it is awarded to anyone studying towards a qualification in finance and ICT. The organization’s mission is to increase the amount of suitably qualified candidates entering the finance and accountancy sector; to facilitate transformation within the accountancy and finance sector; as well as to grow and expand the skill set required within the sector.

Hope Thobela is one of Fasset’s beneficiaries, in her final-year of study towards the Bachelor of Accounting Science Degree at the University of Venda. Hope shares the following testimony with Fasset; “I just want to say thank you to Fasset for the opportunity they gave me. The financial, emotional, and academic support afforded to me has been a great motivation as it has given me the strength to achieve my goals. I pray and hope that this opportunity doesn’t end with me as upcoming students need this opportunity to achieve their goals,” she says.

In the context of South African higher education, funding should not be based solely on the payment of university fees as when this happens, impoverished students' needs are not fully met, causing them unnecessary psychological stress. As a result, students become preoccupied with addressing and meeting their other financial needs, such as living, housing, and resources for learning.

To this date, the programme continues changing lives and has successfully funded over 1 725 students from last year to date, paving a way for learners to achieve their dreams as this opportunity caters for deprived hard-working students who meet the requirements.

The suite of Academic Support programmes may be applied for directly to the Institutions of Higher Learning who are offering them. Further information on how to apply for these benefits is available of Fasset’s website www.fasset.org.za.

Registering of Learners on learnerships

Employers who are accredited as training providers are encouraged to submit their completion certificates, verification reports, and/or external moderation reports to their respective Setas in order to qualify for funding based on the funding criteria listed on our website. For more information, please click here.

Fasset also needs the information to update programme completions and to report to the Department of Higher Education, Science, and Technology. To submit external verification reports or learner certificates for learner completions, please contact Nomadlozi Buthelezi at Nomadlozi.buthelezi@fasset.org.za or certification.request@fasset.org.za.

Employers are urged not to submit learnership workplace-based programme agreements to Fasset's staff email addresses but to use the designated email address. Herewith is the list of requirements for the registration of the Workplace-based Learning Programme Agreement/Learnership Agreement:

	Document	Compulsory	Not compulsory
1.	A signed and dated copy of employment contract with valid employment dates.	X
2.	Proof of learner registration with the relevant professional body e.g. CIMA, SAIPA etc. for professional body registration	X
3.	Proof that the employer is accredited by the relevant professional body (copy of letter/certificate) for professional body registration	X
4.	Proof that the tuition / training provider is accredited by the relevant professional body or SETA, if applicable (copy of letter/certificate).	X
5.	Proof that the workplace provider is accredited by the relevant professional body or SETA (copy of letter/certificate) for cross-sectoral learnership	X
6.	A certified copy of the learners’ identity document or certified copy of Passport (please ensure copy is clear and legible/current).	X
7.	Certified copies of highest qualifications	X
8.	Learnership and Workplace Based Learning agreement MUST be submitted within 30 working days of all-party signatures	X
Fasset has 30 working days to register the agreement or 7 working days to reject (if rejection is applicable as per the above requirements)

Learnership agreement submissions for 2021

Employers who wish to submit the Learnership and Workplace-based Learning Programme Agreements can do so on learnership.agreements@fasset.org.za. For learnership queries, please contact Simon Mokete and Lulama Mnisi at simon.mokete@fasset.org.za and lulama.mnisi@fasset.org.za. Please do not submit Learnership agreements to individual email addresses as these will not be attended to, but to the designated email address mentioned above.

Learners/trainees who are completing cross-sectoral learnerships

Employers who are accredited as training providers are urged to submit their completion certificates, verification and/or external moderation reports from their respective Setas to enable them to qualify for funding as per the funding criteria available on our website, please click here to learn more. Fasset also requires the data to update programme completions as well as reporting to the Department of Higher Education, Science and Technology. For learner completions, please contact Nomadlozi Buthelezi at Nomadlozi.buthelezi@fasset.org.za or certification.request@fasset.org.za to submit external verification reports or learner certificates.

Fasset’s accreditation process

Fasset has developed training provider accreditation guidelines to assist providers in completing their application forms; to provide additional information in terms of the accreditation process, and to explain relevant terminology that may require clarification by providers. The diagram below is a summarised process flow to guide providers on steps to take when placing their submissions. Please click here to access the full accreditation guidelines.

Accreditation of Applications

We are currently experiencing a backlog in the evaluation of applications for accreditation, these delays are due to the team working remotely. However, we are trying our best to access and complete as many evaluations as possible. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused. New applications for accreditations are to be submitted to trainingprovideraccreditations@fasset.org.za and queries to be addressed to Khomotso.phetla@fasset.org.za and only the Fasset Skills Programme and qualifications with SAQA code 49021 and 57901 will be considered. The rest of the qualifications are managed through the professional bodies.

Accreditation of Applications

Assessor and moderator registration is currently done on line on this link Training Providers - Fasset for any queries contact Berlinda Melamane at berlinda.melamane@fasset.org.za

ICB qualifications certificates

Please note that ICB is now printing ICB full qualification certificates on behalf of Fasset. Any new or re-issue requests will be issued by ICB; please direct your queries to support@icb.org.za

Certification

Professional body certificates are currently issued by Fasset. Fasset issues learner certificates for the below professional bodies

ATSA
IIASA
ACFE
SAIPA (Learnership certificates)
ICB (Learnership certificates)
SAIT (Learnership certificates)
Debt Recovery (Learnership and qualification certificates)
Statement of Results (where applicable)

Other professional body certificates may be issued as per the request of the professional body in question. For the above professional body certificates, please contact Berlinda Melamane at berlinda.melamane@fasset.org.za.

Verification of Certificates

Employers who would like to verify certificates issued by Fasset, can do so by contacting Khomotso or Nomadlozi at khomotso.phetla@fasset.org.za or Nomadlozi.buthelezi@fasset.org.za. The South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) is also available to confirm certificates issued by Fasset at verifications@saqa.org.za.

Getting Started with Fasset

Click here for a guideline on how to get started with Fasset, and how to take advantage of the Seta’s offerings.

Support to Non-levy payers

Non-levy paying employers can register with Fasset, and enjoy Seta benefits and incentives, such as attending free training events. Click here to download the registration form.

Career Guidance

To find out how to get Fasset material for your Career Guidance programme, send an email to vusi.mahlangu@fasset.org.za outlining your requirements.

Do we have your correct details?

If any of your particulars have changed, please contact Fasset at 086 101 0001 or via email at fassetcallcentre@fasset.org.za, so that we can update your details on our database. You can also login to verify or update your details.