WHAT IS SKILL DEVELOPMENT?

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT ACT?

The Skills Development Act aims to develop the skills and knowledge of the South African workforce by means of training. This in turn leads to improved productivity in the workplace, improved prospects for employees and the organisation reaching its goals and objectives.

WHEN SHOULD A COMPANY COMPLY WITH THE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT ACT?

Payment toward the levy grant scheme is legislated in terms of the Skills Development Levies Act. An employer registered with SARS for PAYE and an annual payroll amount of R500 000.00 or more must contribute 1% of the payroll to SARS in the form of SDL or Skills Development Levy.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF BECOMING COMPLIANT?

Companies registered with a SETA (Sector Education and Training Authority) can claim back a percentage of the Skills Development Levy that they pay over to SARS by submitting an ATR (annual training report) and WSP (workplace skills plan) to their SETA on an annual basis.

Companies can receive points for the Skills Development element of their BBBEE scorecard by submitting a WSP and ATR tot the relevant seta, ensuring that their levy payments are up to date and focussing on priority skills programmes for PDI’s.