| (1) | A SETA may determine and allocate discretionary grants in support of the implementation of its SSP. |
| (2) | A SETA must develop its SSP by taking account of national strategic goals as set out in the National Skills Development Strategy, the National Skills Accord and other relevant national priorities. |
| (3) | The APP must make clear how the SETA will allocate discretionary grants in a manner that prioritises the offering of learning programmes to address sector needs through public education and training institutions. |
[Regulation 6(3) amended by regulation 13 of Notice No. 486 of 2013]
| (4) | A SETA must, on an annual basis, and in accordance with any guidelines issued by DHET, approve a Discretionary Grants Policy, specifying how the SETA discretionary funds will be allocated to meet sector needs as set out in the SSP. |
| (5) | The Discretionary Grants Policy must set out the funding framework, the different delivery models and project types that will be deployed and the mechanism for SETA member organisations, as contemplated in sub-regulation (10), to access the discretionary grants. |
| (6) | The Discretionary Grants Policy must set out how PIVOTAL programmes can be delivered through public education and training institutions. |
| (7) | A SETA must prepare and distribute grant application and project proposal forms in a manner that enables within the sector national access and opportunities for a legal person or enterprises of different sizes (including small and micro enterprises, Non Government Organisations (NGOs) and cooperatives in the sector) to apply for any category of grant, or participate in any type of learning programme, as identified in the SETA Discretionary Grants Policy. |
[Regulation 6(7) amended by regulation 14 of Notice No. 486 of 2013]
| (8) | The Discretionary Grants Policy must embrace the principles of transparency, openness, access and fairness. |
| (9) | The Discretionary Grants Policy must — |
| (i) | indicate the purpose of the various grants, funding frameworks and projects and specify what is intended to be funded from the grant, including any administrative costs that may be considered appropriate by the Accounting Authority; |
| (ii) | provide for procedures and communication on strategy with potential beneficiaries as contemplated in sub-regulation (10) that set out timeframes for processing of applications, communication of decisions, and payment schedules; |
| (iii) | determine the proportion of discretionary grants that can be used for administration or project management purposes in the various grant and project categories provided it indicates that a maximum of 7.5% of any grant or SETA-funded project may be used for administration or project management costs; and |
| (iv) | ensure that value for money is achieved and generally ensure that funds are spent on skills development to meet sector needs. |
| (10) | A discretionary grant may be paid to a legal person, including — |
| (a) | a public education and training institution; |
| (b) | an employer or enterprise within the jurisdiction of a SETA, including an employer or enterprise not required to pay a skills development levy in terms of the Skills Development Levies Act; |
| (c) | other legal person contemplated in sub-regulation (7) that meets the criteria for the payment of such grant; or |
| (d) | an employer contemplated in section 30 and 30(A) of the Act who has submitted to its relevant line SETA or Public Service SETA (PSETA) within the time frames prescribed in regulation 4(2) and 4(3), a [sic] as a minimum in the format contained in Annexure 2. |
[Regulation 6(10)(d) amended by regulation 15 of Notice No. 486 of 2013]
| (11) | A key focus of SETAs must be to address scarce and critical skills through programmes that are designed to address such skills needs, and which include work integrated learning. |
| (12) | At least 80% of discretionary grant funding must be allocated to PIVOTAL programmes. |
| (13) | A SETA may allocate a maximum of 20% to funding of programmes, other than PIVOTAL programmes, to develop the sector in accordance with the priorities outlined in the SSP. |
| (14) | In order to obtain discretionary grant funding for PIVOTAL programmes from a SETA, a legal person falling into the categories set out in sub-regulation (10) must complete and submit a PIVOTAL plan and PIVOTAL report using the template attached to these regulations. |
[Regulation 6(14) amended by regulation 16 of Notice No. 486 of 2013]
| (15) | Companies employing less than 50 employees will not be required to complete the prescribed PIVOTAL plan and PIVOTAL report, but will be asked to provide information on participation in PIVOTAL programmes and the impact of these programmes; SETAs must develop suitable templates for the provision of information by small and micro enterprises. |
[Regulation 6(15) amended by regulation 17 of Notice No. 486 of 2013]
