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About Us

HUMAN SKILLS DEVELOPMENT IN ANY NATION IS KEY FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH

Our Overview

SSACI has established itself as a transformative force in South Africa’s skills development sector. Through its innovative approach, policy influence, and strong partnerships, SSACI continues to shape the future of technical and vocational education, ensuring that young people are equipped with the skills needed for meaningful employment.

Activities

SSACI’s main activities focus on strengthening the TVET system and enhancing skills development through:

  • Providing policy and programmatic support to the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and related institutions such as TVET colleges and Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs).
  • Initiating and managing technical and vocational training projects that enable unskilled and unemployed youth to transition into skilled employment.

SSACI collaborates with a wide range of implementation partners, including:

  • Government departments, TVET colleges, SETAs, universities, private-sector companies, and NGOs.
  • The organization's work is funded by the Swiss and South African governments, as well as foundations and private-sector companies.

SSACI collaborates with a wide range of implementation partners, including:

  • Training of TVET college staff in workplace-based experience (WBE) implementation and student assessments.
  • Training at 28 public TVET colleges for systematic workplace exposure for lecturers.
  • Development of essential resources, including:
  • A "how-to" manual and student materials for implementing WBE.
  • A lecturer's guide for continuous assessments during WBE.
  • A handbook on college-industry partnerships.
  • Work-integrated learning manuals for industry-based lecturer training.
  • Research reports on student WBE, college-industry collaborations, artisan training, and youth entrepreneurship.

The impact of SSACI’s projects has led to significant improvements in national skills development, including:

  • New national curricula for electricians, plumbers, and welders.
  • New qualifications and training programs in sectors such as agriculture, construction, early childhood development, hospitality, and tourism
  • Implementation of workplace-based experience in all 50 public TVET colleges, benefiting over 15,000 students annually.
  • Over 300 companies and organizations hosting college students for workplace-based experience.
  • Establishment of an inter-college learning forum to enhance curriculum development and share best practices.

SSACI has played a pivotal role in shaping the national skills development landscape through:

  • Integration of workplace-based experience into the DHET's monitoring and evaluation system for TVET colleges since 2012.
  • Development of a web-based national artisan database and tracking system for apprentices (established in 2013 with SSACI fundin
  • Contributions to the standardization of apprenticeship funding across all artisan trades.
  • Policy influence, including the adoption of work-integrated learning strategies and dual-system approaches for artisan training.
  • Professionalization of TVET college lecturers by incorporating workplace-based experience training into their qualifications.

Independent evaluations by Swiss and South African researchers have confirmed SSACI’s success in:

  • Enhancing youth employability by providing training that improves livelihoods and economic resilience.
  • Developing and testing workplace-based learning models for students and lecturers.
  • Aligning with national skills priorities and fostering stronger engagement between TVET colleges and industries.
  • Documenting and sharing learnings to continuously improve the TVET system and respond to evolving needs.
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Our APPROACH

SSACI has established itself as a transformative force in South Africa’s skills development sector. Through its innovative approach, policy influence, and strong partnerships, SSACI continues to shape the future of technical and vocational education, ensuring that young people are equipped with the skills needed for meaningful employment.

In pursuit of its objectives, SSACI has a four-legged strategy of:
  • Linking public Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges to industry
  • Initiating and implementing proof-of-concept projects in skills development
  • Catalysing government initiatives and supporting their implementation
  • Feeding lessons from these interventions into government policy and programmes
  • SSACI seeks to work collaboratively with other agencies in both the public and the private sectors, seeking a multiplier effect by bringing together resources and capacity from both sides
  • SSACI seeks to provide practical answers, based on evidence and experience drawn from best practice, to policy and systemic problems. In our view, good policy arises from good practice, and vice versa.
  • Since only government has both the mandate and resources to develop the skills of the nation at large, SSACI seeks to work through public agencies in taking our innovations to scale
  • As a public-private partnership in development, SSACI seeks to harness its private-sector linkages to public-sector structures, systems, and programmes. In doing this, SSACI nevertheless maintains its own independence from both state and private interests
  • Focuses on training to demand and opportunity in sectors of the economy that:
  • Are growing, and are therefore likely to offer future opportunities
  • Are creating new jobs and work opportunities, as opposed to the “jobless growth” found in some industries
  • Require intermediate entry-levels of skill and therefore offer the sort of jobs that young people can immediately fill
  • Selects trainees with an aptitude for the work envisaged
  • Training curricula that comprise:
  • A balance between theory and practice, including authentic workplace-based experience
  • Workplace behavioural skills, including preparation for the selection process
  • On-the-job mentoring for a period after placement
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SSACI’s Board

MEET OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Jannie Isaacs

Chairman, SSACI Board of Directors

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Athol Swanepoel

SSACI Board Director

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Sullivan O’Carroll

SSACI Board Director

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Rachael Madziwanyika

SSACI Board Director

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Jannie Isaacs

Chairman, SSACI Board of Directors

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Athol Swanepoel

SSACI Board Director

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Sullivan O’Carroll

SSACI Board Director

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Rachael Madziwanyika

SSACI Board Director

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SSACI’s Core Team

COMMITTED EXPERTS SHAPING TOMORROW

Shanita Roopnarain

Chief Executive Officer

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Binaben Akoobhai

R & D Manager

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Onicah Khumalo

Administrative Assistant

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Gertrude Bambo

Project Support

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Humbulani Bereda

Project Officer

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