ICT SETA gets teeth

By Warwick Ashford for CompTIA
Johannesburg, 24 Jun 2004

The ICT Sector Education and Training Authority, ISETT SETA, has been given the thumbs up by government in a review of all 25 SETAs.

"There is a clear indication from labour minister Membathisi Mdladlana that he intends to close down SETAs that fail to fulfil their mandate in terms of the National Skills Development Strategy objectives," Oupa Mopaki, ISETT SETA CEO, told the Technology Learning Group of the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) in Randburg yesterday.

"I am glad to announce that ISETT is not one of the endangered SETAs," Mopaki said. "In fact, ISETT is one of the top performers."

The announcement comes just over a year after the SETA admitted to "delivery problems" and Mopaki assured stakeholders that the training authority would show an effective turnaround "in the next few months".

Mopaki said yesterday that while some SETAs had been read the riot act and given a fixed period of time to get their affairs in order, ISETT had been given a new lease on life.

"Our newly re-conferred status of Education and Training Quality Assurance body gives us a fresh mandate to fast-track all applications for accreditation from ICT training providers," he said. "It also strengthens our hand to deal with illegal training providers, conferring full powers to clamp down on fly-by-night training providers."

Mopaki said as part of the clampdown, ISETT had formed a partnership with CompTIA as a major representative association of training providers to guide training provision in the context of the National Qualifications Framework.

In conclusion, Mopaki said he was confident ISETT was on course to serve the ICT sector. He also thanked CompTIA for bringing training providers closer to the SETA. "This will enable us all to change the landscape of skills development in our country," he said.