The Services Seta is reviewing best practice approaches to grant disbursement at the South African Social Security Agency, as it moves to accelerate implementation and improve outcomes across its funded programmes.
The review formed part of a project management and grants delivery workshop on Wednesday at the CSIR Conference Centre in Pretoria, where the organisation also launched its new project management unit (PMU).
The unit is intended to strengthen governance, tighten oversight and improve the execution of skills development programmes.
The intervention comes against a backdrop of persistent implementation challenges across the sector, including delays in project completion, slow learner certification and inconsistencies in stipend payments.
The PMU is expected to improve coordination, enforce financial discipline and ensure that funded programmes deliver measurable results.
Services Seta administrator Lehlogonolo Masoga said the workshop was intended to mark a shift in how the organisation approached delivery challenges, with a stronger focus on capability and execution.
“We have put together this workshop as a launching pad to build our project management capabilities. What we want to build is an alternative way of doing things differently,” he said.
Masoga said the issue was not the presence of challenges but how institutions responded to them.
He said that improving delivery would require stronger collaboration and learning across institutions, including drawing on external expertise and sector-wide training initiatives.
“We have to do something with Sassa so that we draw lessons from those best practices.
“We have to talk to the PMSA [Project Management South Africa] on the immediate introduction of a training programme or masterclass, not just for Services Seta but for the sector,” Masoga said.
Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training Dr Mimmy Gondwe said the skills system needed to shift its focus from activity to measurable impact.
“We invest billions into skills development but investment alone does not produce outcomes,” she said. “We cannot continue to measure success by the number of students we enrol or the certificates we issue. The real measure of success is whether learners transition into meaningful employment and sustainable livelihoods.”
Dr Nkosinathi Sishi, the director-general of the department, said stronger governance and accountability were essential in managing public funds effectively.
“We have a responsibility to ensure that public funds are managed prudently, transparently, efficiently and economically to achieve meaningful outcomes,” he said.
The workshop brought together representatives from the department of higher education and training, Setas and industry partners and focused on strengthening coordination, sharing lessons and identifying practical steps to improve delivery performance across the skills system.
The Services Seta has launched a new PMU aimed at improving governance, accelerating programme delivery and addressing delays in learner certification and stipend payments, as the skills development sector faces renewed pressure to improve outcomes