The financial year-end is looming, and with just days to go, businesses must ensure that all Skills Development measures are in place to maximise their B-BBEE scorecard points.
By Anton Visser, chief operations officer of SA Business School and Alefbet Learning
Skills Development is one of the most critical and rewarding scorecard elements, contributing at least 25 points – but achieving these targets isn’t always easy. Lack of time, resources, or knowledge can be a major hurdle, and missing key incentives can cost your business more than you realise.
Consider these three powerful strategies to implement before year-end to help you boost your Skills Development score and get the best ROI from your L&D investment:
Tap Into Employed Learnerships
You can earn points from learnerships for your existing staff – the very people already on your payroll? Upskilling your employees allows you to claim back a portion of your Skills Development Levy (SDL) while benefiting from tax incentives.
These work-based learning programmes lead to nationally recognised qualifications, helping you address skills gaps, enhance performance, and retain top talent.
How to implement:
- Register a Skills Development Facilitator (SDF) and submit a Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) to your Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA).
- Choose a reputable training provider offering the right learning programmes.
- Ensure the learnership is registered with your SETA, aligns with the National Qualifications Framework (NQF), and is supervised by a mentor or coach.
- Learners must have an employment contract and receive a stipend or allowance in addition to their salary.
Align Training with the Organising Framework for Occupations (OFO)
The OFO is a classification tool that helps identify scarce and critical skills in your sector, ensuring your training investments are relevant and impactful.
How to use the OFO:
- Match job titles with the listed occupations and codes.
- Select corresponding learning programmes that meet industry needs.
- Plan training strategically to maximise scorecard benefits and business growth.
Partner with the Right Training Provider
Choosing a training partner that aligns with your business and human capital needs is crucial. The right provider ensures your training is:
- Academically rigorous
- Practically relevant
- Quality assured
Your training provider should assist with:
- Conducting skills audits and gap analyses.
- Developing a skills strategy and plan.
- Offering short courses, skills programmes, and learnerships.
- Providing online, face-to-face, or blended learning options.
- Assessing and certifying learning outcomes.
- Reporting and evaluating training impacts.
The Benefits of Getting Your Skills Development Strategy in Order
Getting your house in order on skills development in the run-up to year-end, means you can tick all-important boxes that include:
- Identified skills gaps and training needs.
- Planned and budgeted for training interventions.
- Claimed 100% of the training cost as Skills Development expenditure, provided that the training aligns with the NQF and Skills Development Act.
- Claimed bonus points for training previously disadvantaged individuals, women, and people with disabilities, as well as scarce or critical skills development.
- Claimed additional points for training that resulted in a qualification or unit standard, or formed part of a learnership or internship.
- Claimed 20% of your Skills Development Levy back from your SETA – provided that you submitted your workplace skills plan (WSP) and annual training report (ATR) in time.
- Claimed bonus points for employing unemployed learners who’ve completed a learnership.
The Bottom Line: Skills Development is a Game-Changer
Skills Development is more than just a compliance requirement — it’s a strategic investment that boosts your B-BBEE rating, maximises ROI, and builds a skilled, competitive workforce.