AgriSETA – Agricultural Sector Education Training Authority Information.
The Agricultural Sector Education Training Authority (SETA), to be known as AgriSETA, is set to become a diverse and fairly complex organisation that handles not only agriculture, but all food and beverage and forestry activities. This is the proposal in terms of the Government’s new SETA licences due to be implemented in March 2011.
When the Government announced extensive changes to the entire South African SETA landscape in November 2009, the agricultural sector was one that was earmarked with relatively substantial modifications. Previously this sector was split into Primary Agriculture (PAETA) and Secondary Agriculture (SETASA). But in terms of the newly restructured SETA landscape, these already rather vast areas will, in future, be handled by one SETA, at least from 2011 until 2015.
Sub-sectors to be included in the new AgriSETA
While all forms of agriculture will be included under the new AgriSETA umbrella, Government has identified specific types of framing, processing and manufacturing, packing, drying, storage and the distribution of a host of different farming types and processes. These include:
- all types of farming including meat, game and fish, horticulture and crops,
- red meat, poultry and egg production,
- processing of tea and coffee, macadamia nuts (specifically), tobacco and various fibres,
- fruit farming, including packing, drying, liquefying (for juice), importing and exporting,
- milling, manufacture, storage and all types of handling of grain, sugar and starch products (including flour),
- production of pet and other animal feeds,
- distribution and sale of various raw agricultural materials, and
- research, production and marketing of pest control seeds.
Clearly there are many other areas that are included, but these have not been singled out. This doesn’t make other forms of farming any less important.
Required functions of the new AgriSETA
According to the SA Government’s new plan of action, the new AgriSETA will be required to develop a plan that will enable them to develop skills within the agricultural sector so that learners will be in a position to benefit from these. At the end of the day they want to enable an increased number of young people who can learn new skills and make a living within the agricultural sector.
For this reason the new AgriSETA will also be required to implement an overall plan so that learners entering the agricultural workplace have the opportunity to:
- access courses and learnerships where they can gain the necessary knowledge via college courses or any other short course the SETA considers relevant
- approve plans for workplace skills so that learners know exactly where they can find suitable workplace experience
- identify workplaces that are suitable for learners to utilise in an endeavour to get a suitable workplace experience
- allocate discretionary grants and possibly also bursaries
- monitor education training to ensure that learners are correctly and adequately trained
- support the development of learning materials to ensure that learners are studying relevant topics
- help develop and facilitate learnership agreements and register these agreements for learner security
- make sure they (the SETA) get accreditation from the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) to ensure that all learning is relevant and in keeping with the standards required within South Africa
- collect and then correctly disburse the levies due for skills development in this sector.
- liaise with the National Skills Authority regarding the Government’s national skills development policy
- liaise with the National Skills Authority regarding the Government’s national skills development strategy and its sector skills plan
- report directly to the Government’s Director-General of Labour regarding income and expenditure as well as the implementation for the sector skills plan
- liaise with the Department of Labour’s employment services as well as all education bodies that are regulated by laws that relate to education in South Africa aimed at improving employment opportunities for these specific learners
- appoint staff who are able to fulfil these obligations
- perform any other duties that the Skills Development Act and the Skills Development Levies Act requires
Where to find the AgriSETA
The Agricultural Sector Education Training Authority is based in Pretoria.