Fasset Learnership Induction

Template

March 2005

Overview of legislation

& learnerships

Skills Development Legislative Environment

National SkillsAuthority NSA

Sector Education &Training Authority(SETA)

StandardsGeneratingBodies(SGBs)

NationalStandardsBodies(NSBs)

Education &Training QualityAssurer (ETQA)

NationalSkillsFund

QualityAssurance

Accreditation

Providers/Moderators/Assessors

Employers

Department of Education

Department of Labour

NationalQualificationsFramework(NQF)

South African Qualification Authority Act (SAQA)

Skills Development Act (SDA)

The NQF

The NQF aims to:

Bring together the variety of qualifications already in existence

Provide a structure onto which new qualifications can be

added

Ensure that all existing and new national qualifications meet

quality requirements

Ensure international education and business networks and

opportunities can be developed now and in the future

Levels of the NQF

1

8

7

6

5

3

4

2

LEVEL

General Education and

Training

Higher Education and

Training

Further Education and

Training

BAND

Pre - school

Foundation Phase

Intermediate Phase

Senior Phase

Doctorates, further research degrees

Diplomas, occupational certificates

Higher degrees, professional qualifications

First degrees, higher diplomas

School, college, training certificates, mix of units from all NGOs

TYPES OF QUALIFICATIONS AND CERTIFICATES

ABET Level 1

ABET Level 2

ABET Level 3

ABET Level 4

StandardsStandards

Learning Assessment

• On the job experience• Coaching / Mentoring• e-Learning• Self study• Distance-education• Training courses

• RPL• On-the-job observation• Exams• Interviews• Projects• Evidence

QualificationQualification

Unit Standards

Qualification

Fundamental Core Electives

Training Programme / Curriculum

Unit Standards

Outcomes-based modules

Learnership

Design of Learnerships

What is a learnership?

A Learnership is defined as a work-based route for learning and gaining qualifications.

It includes both structured work experience (practical) and structured learning (theory). 

Lead to a qualification

Include practical work experience

Consist of a structured learning component

Relate to an

occupation

A Learnership must:

The learnership

agreement

Parties to the Agreement

Learnership

agreement

Learner

Training ProviderEmployer

NOTE: the employer may be the training provider

Duties of the Learner

The Learner must:

work for the employer as part of the learning process

be available for and participate in all learning and work experience

required by the learnership

comply with workplace policies and procedures

complete any timesheets or any written assessment tools supplied

by the employer to record relevant workplace experience

attend all study periods and theoretical learning sessions with the

training provider and undertake all learning

conscientiously

Duties of the Employer

The Employer must: Comply with its duties in terms of applicable legislation

Provide the learner with appropriate training in the work

environment and with the appropriate facilities to achieve

the relevant outcomes

Provide the learner with adequate supervision at work

Release the learner during normal working hours to attend

off-the-job education and training

Conduct on-the-job assessment

Keep up to date records of learning and discuss progress

with the learner

Period of the Agreement

The learning period is determined

at the time the learnership is established; and

according to the rate at which the unit standards are achieved.

Previous learning achievements may be recognised (RPL) –

this may reduce the learning period.

The Agreement will end if required learning outcomes are not

achieved within the agreed period, unless otherwise agreed

between the parties

Assessment and

moderation

Applied Competence & Assessment

SAQA defines Applied Competence as:

“…the union of foundational, practical and reflexive competence”

SAQA defines assessment as:

“A structured process for gathering evidence and making a judgement

about an individual’s performance in relation to registered national

standards”

Assessment in the Learnership context must be: Structured

Transparent

Negotiated

Objective

Structure of a Unit Standard

Title

Purpose Statement

Learning Assumptions

Specific Outcomes

Assessment Criteria

Range Statements

Critical Cross Field Outcomes

Embedded Knowledge

Unit standards (cont.)

Unit standards are:

Nationally registered standards on the National Qualifications

Framework (NQF) that represents an end point of learning

The benchmark that the assessor will use to evaluate the learner’s

performance i.e. his/her competence against the specific outcomes

The learner must be meet ALL the specific outcomes of the unit

standard to be declared competent against the whole unit

standard

The learner must be very familiar with the content of the unit

standards for the qualification

Assessment of unit standards on the NQF

i.e. No “degrees” of competence

Competent

Not Yet Competent

(NYC)

or

Who will my Assessors be?

Subject Matter Experts who have:

Completed Workplace Assessment Training

Been declared competent against the relevant Assessor Unit

standard/s

Are registered by Fasset as Assessors

The Role of the Assessor

Learning is no longer something that is ‘done to’ the learner, but

something that the learner is actively involved in.

As such the role of the assessor has changed: from being a

‘gate keeper’, who uses assessment to prevent learners from

developing further, to a supportive guide who has the success

of the learner at heart – so that the learner can gain access to

further learning.

(Criteria and Guidelines for the Registration of Assessors, p7.)

How will I be Assessed?

Assessment Guides developed against the unit standards

Assessment will occur in the workplace

Simulated work or actual work produced during the course of

the normal working day (e.g. client proposals, project plans)

Work that can be attributed to the individual learner

Provision for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Evaluation of Portfolio of evidence

Methods of Collecting Evidence

Observation

Written tests

Oral tests or questioning

Simulation/role – play/case study

Reports

Portfolio of evidence

6 Phases of Assessment with the Learner

1. Develop the Assessment Plan (Assessor and Learner)

2. Discuss the Assessment Plan (Assessor and Learner)

3. Conduct the Assessment (Assessor and Learner)

Gather Evidence

Evaluate Evidence

Make a judgement on competence

4. Provide feedback (Assessor and Learner)

5. Complete administration requirements - including ETQA

Reporting (Assessor)

6. Evaluate the Assessment Process

(Assessor and Learner)

Controls in the Assessment Process

The organisation’s Assessment Policy and Procedures

document

A Head Assessor (if applicable)

Moderators (who perform a quality control function)

The organisation’s grievance procedure

In addition - FassetQA have an external verification role

Implementation

activities

Role Players

Learners

Learnership sponsor/coordinator (could be the SDF)

Learnership Administrator/s

Mentors/Guides (May be one or a number of people per learner)

Assessors

Moderators

Responsibilities – Learnership sponsor/coordinator

Overall management

Overall monitoring

Overall reporting

Liaison with training providers, SETA’s, ETQA’s, SAQA, DoL

and learners

Selection of training providers

Selection and induction of learners

Responsibilities – Learnership Administrator/s

Administering Learnership agreements

Scheduling

Maintaining database

Reporting

General information sharing

Communication

Responsibilities – Mentors/Guides

Supporting learners

Coaching learners

Providing advice to learners

Counselling learners

Responsibilities – Assessors

Planning assessment

Conducting assessment

Reporting on assessment

Supporting learners

Responsibilities – Moderators

Moderating assessment process

ETQA Reporting

Learnership communications

Ongoing Monitoring and ReportingFassetQA and learnership project team

Learners

Learnership Administrator

Learnership coordinator

Mentors

Assessors

Fasset

Communication channels

Internal communications channels

Information-sharing sessions

Fasset website (www.fasset.org.za)

Learnership information and FAQs

Management consulting learnership project updates

Fasset newsletters

Progress meetings