QCTO Background
What is the QCTO?
The Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) was established to provide quality assurance for trades and professional qualifications in our country, taking over from the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs). They are responsible for registering occupational qualifications and part qualifications on the NQF framework, and then governing the quality assurance processes for these qualifications.
Simply put, the QCTO ensures that training and qualifications meet quality standards and that our country can support and benefit from the necessary skills development.
Which Legislations Guide the QCTO?
The QCTO operates within a framework of legislation and policies that guide its operations and ensure the quality of skills development in South Africa, outline the processes and standards for assessing learners, recognise their prior learning and experience, and ensure the integrity and accuracy of assessment outcomes.
These key legislations include:
National Qualifications Framework Act 67 of 2008
Skills Development Act 97 of 1998
Occupational Qualifications Sub-framework Policy
Article 29(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, Act No.108 of 1996
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Policy
Assessment Policy
Approval of Results Policy
Guideline for e-assessment.
Finally, the QCTO quality standards for qualifications and part qualifications registered on the OQSF set out the minimum requirements for the development, delivery, and assessment of occupational qualifications in South Africa.
How Does the QCTO Affect Learning and Development?
Selecting a Skills Development Provider
When choosing a SDP, you must consider their assessment and moderation practices.
According to the QCTO, accredited providers must conduct the following assessments:
Internal assessments of the learners’ performance for each module of the curriculum, recording the summative assessment according to the QCTO’s direction.
Competency assessments in the workplace following the learning programme to be signed off by a supervisor or mentor.
Internal assessment by SDPs, moderating at least 25% of the final internal assessments conducted.
Organisations should choose a SDP who follows these practices to ensure learners receive the necessary skills and competencies.
Responsibilities of the QCTO in accreditation
The QCTO plays a crucial role in the accreditation process for SDPs. Their responsibilities include:
Evaluating and verifying the information provided in the SDP’s application
Deciding who should get accreditation
Maintaining a database of accredited SDPs
To assist SDPs with the accreditation process, the QCTO provides criteria and guidelines on their website. The turnaround time for accrediting SDPs can vary, with an average of 90 working days for applications related to occupational qualifications, and 40 working days for recorded trades and NATED report 190/1 (N4-N6 programs) part qualifications.
By fulfilling these responsibilities, the QCTO will ensure that all accredited SDPs meet the necessary standards to deliver quality education and training.
Modes of delivery and training at various sites
The world of education and training has seen significant changes as a result of rapid technological advancements. These advancements have enabled greater access to learning through the flexibility of content delivery across devices.
The QCTO has thankfully recognised the importance of accommodating these different modes of delivery and has introduced a system to accredit SDPs to deliver occupational qualifications via face-to-face, blended learning, and distance delivery.
Acknowledging this, blended learning does have specific additional requirements, which are outlined in the eLearning Policy and Guidelines Mobility of training is also allowed, however, SDPs must notify the QCTO at least one month before training learners at a new venue.
Duration of accreditation
The duration of accreditation for an SDP is valid as long as the provider:
Adheres to the accreditation criteria
Maintains the quality standards set by the QCTO
Registers the qualification for which they are accredited
Annual self-assessments and QCTO monitoring will also be required processes and the SDP will only be de-accredited according to Section 12 of the policy. It’s also relevant to note that if an accredited SDP has not enrolled and exited learners on an occupational qualification for three years, they will also be de-accredited and removed from the QCTO list of accredited SDPs.
Extending or amending the scope of accreditation
The “Extension of Scope” section outlines the process for extending or amending the scope of accreditation for an SDP, which includes adding or removing occupational qualifications or part qualifications from the SDP’s scope, as well as changing the SDP’s address.
The QCTO will only grant an extension of scope if the SDP meets the institutional compliance requirements and programme delivery readiness requirements for the qualification applied for. They may also amend the scope of accreditation granted if they can prove their failure to comply, or if the SDP themself requests to remove qualifications from its scope of accreditation.
The QCTO will extend the scope of accreditation for a maximum of six qualifications, including part qualifications, if the SDP can prove its ability to deliver quality training for each additional qualification added to its scope.
South Africa’s Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) is a major driving force behind addressing South Africa’s skills shortages across industries. Uniquely positioned in the Post School Education and Training (PSET) sector, the QCTO has been charged, essentially, with shaking things up and disrupting the status quo to address the inequalities of the past.
As South Africa moves forward, all sectors, employers and employees must be prepared to embrace the game-changing transformations already underway. The game is changing, and so too are the rules and the outcomes. For the QCTO, the goal is to ensure that occupational qualifications and programmes are accessible and credible to all, to meet the economic demands for the skills that will take South Africa into the future.
A skills development ecosystem: pathways to employability
Looking at South Africa’s unemployment crisis, the need for change is undeniable. The current system is simply not producing the skills and technical competencies required with sufficient speed or scalability. Speaking at the QCTO Game Changer Business Breakfast, QCTO CEO Vijayen Naidoo noted that it is necessary to get people out into employment as soon as possible. Given that the current qualification system is lacking, Naidoo pointed out the necessity of creating pathways to employability. This requires a change in thinking and the building of skills development ecosystems, leaving behind the old system that saw each industry operating as an island. For this, we need to understand how all industries, sectors and skills fit together and facilitate their alignment into responsive, agile, interconnected systems.
A skilled and capable workforce
The gazetting of the Occupational Qualifications Sub-Framework (OQSF) in October 2021 laid the groundwork for this change, solidifying the QCTO’s vision to qualify a skilled and capable workforce. The purpose of the OQSF is to facilitate the development and registration of quality-assured occupational and trade-related qualifications, part-qualifications and skills programmes from the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Levels 1 to 8, the purpose of which is to meet the needs of existing and emerging sectors. This ensures that all school leavers, learners, professionals, workers, unemployed individuals and those classified as NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training), can be equipped with relevant, sustainable and transferable competencies to establish lifelong employability.
Alignment across industries and players
The QCTO’s role, Naidoo explained, is to establish and maintain occupational standards and qualifications, skills programmes, by industry for industry, with an emphasis on quality assurance of these standards and qualifications for the workplace. Here, it will be necessary for Skills Development Providers (SDPs) to align with other bodies in the PSET sector, including Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) across industries. While the QCTO was originally intended to replace the SETAs, this is unlikely to happen. The SETAs have an important role to play, and by their proximity to industries, are here to stay. However, there will need to be more alignment between the different SETAs. Where there are currently different accreditation policies per SETA, this makes cross-industry interaction extremely difficult. Work has already begun on a single unifying accreditation policy, which the QCTO will be charged with auditing.
Out with the old, in with the new
The National Skills Development Plan (NSDP) set a target of producing 30,000 artisans per year by 2030, having identified artisans as a critical skill for economic growth and social development. Naidoo pointed out that although we are already producing around 20,000 to 21,000 artisans annually, merely ticking quantity boxes is insufficient, as the quality of those qualifications is still questionable. He explained the transition from the so-called old trades to the new and emphasised the importance of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges and private training facilities in addressing the quality component of occupational qualifications and skills development.
Synergy, simplification, and effectiveness
Naidoo noted the importance of integrated system planning that prioritises a single national quality short OQSF that promotes synergy, simplification and effectiveness. This is necessary to guide the development and quality assurance of occupational qualifications for skills programmes that respond to South Africa’s developmental imperatives, by establishing learning organisations that are themselves responsive to changing industry demands. The gazetting of the new OQSF allows vocationally trained graduates greater freedom in terms of their choice for further study, or direct access to the workplace, where they opt not to study further. This system is designed to turn the truism “qualifications are not jobs” into “qualifications lead to jobs,” with occupational qualifications that are directly relevant to the workplace with the clear goal of helping people secure employment.
Systemic change that focuses on quality
The revised OQSF now also recognises skills programmes, which are similar to short courses or micro-credentials. In the past, skills programmes were somewhat haphazardly introduced and implemented by specific SETAs to address immediate skills needs. But with the new revision, there is a more systematic approach to incorporating these programmes, making it easier for people to gain valuable skills and improve their employability. By formally incorporating skills programmes into the OQSF, it allows for this type of micro-qualification to be systematically designed, rapidly developed and provided to learners and the labour market. This will sanction these programmes to carry recognition that allows a holder of a Skills Programme to progress toward a full Qualification should they choose. The ability of the QCTO to provide recognised, quality-assured micro-credentials to the nation is just another game changer provided by the revised OQSF.
What now for accreditation?
Responsibility for SDP accreditation lies now with the QCTO, in terms of which SDPs must apply to be accredited for the various qualifications they offer. The QCTO will complete the first phase, known as desktop evaluation, after which it will go to the SETA for verification, due to the proximity of each SETA to the industry. The QCTO’s accreditation process is designed to ensure that SDPs meet the required standards for quality training and ensure that the SDP’s curriculum, learning materials and assessment methods are aligned with the relevant occupational qualification. If the application is approved, the QCTO will issue the SDP with a certificate of accreditation, which must be renewed every five years.
A role to play for all training providers
With regards to historically registered qualifications that expired at the end of June 2023, there is a teach-out period until 2024 after which new enrolees must be in the new occupational qualifications or skills programmes. Where SDPs were offering a skills programme and they now cannot find its equivalent in the new framework, Naidoo advises SDPs to approach their SETAs and invites SDPs to join in on the development process to ensure that no skill gets left behind.
While more than 700 qualifications have already been developed with a 30% uptake, this is not enough and SDPs are urged to take a more active role in the game. Although it will be necessary for us as SDPs to re-engineer our learning models, curriculums and mindsets, embracing this is our opportunity to change the game. It is essential if we are to play a valuable role in assisting employers and individuals with access to quality education and training that meets the need for skills development in existing and emerging industries.
The Quality Council for Trades and Occupations will affect companies with active skills development programmes.
In less than six months, there will be a major shift in the South African skills development space, which will have significant implications for organisations and their workforces. This is due to the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) becoming the primary body responsible for the accreditation, implementation, assessment, and certification of occupational qualifications, part-qualifications, and skills programmes from June 2023.
Since its establishment in 2010, the QCTO has been responsible for the design, assessment, and certification of trades and other occupational qualifications under the Occupational Qualifications Sub-Framework (OQSF).
Although the QCTO aims at ensuring that South Africa has a skilled workforce, thereby contributing to job creation and economic growth, many organisations remain unclear about how these new standards will affect them and their employees. Delays in the rollout of the new system have only added to the confusion.
Siphelele Kubheka, managing director at Skills Growth and head of learnerships & B-BBEE strategy at HyperionDev, tackles a few of the QCTO must-knows for HR.
The QCTO and where it fits in
The QCTO is a government organisation established in 2010 under the Skills Development Act (Act 97 of 1998) as amended in 2008. It is one of several quality councils responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) in South Africa.
The QCTO works with various stakeholders, including employers, industry bodies, and education and training providers, to ensure that occupational qualifications meet the needs of the economy and are of high quality.
What changes from June 2023
It’s been more than a decade in the making, but the QCTO has gradually been building capacity as a stand-alone institution to take over its mandated functions from the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA).
According to the QCTO, “the registration end date for all ‘historical’ qualifications is 30 June 2023, with a phase-out period of one year for learners to still enrol up to and including 30 June 2024”, after which it will be necessary to move over to occupationally directed qualifications.
Training, assessments, moderations, and achievements on these qualifications will only continue with learners registered before 30 June 2024. A teach-out period will facilitate learners enrolled before 30 June 2024 until 30 June 2027, but statements of results and certificates will no longer be issued post 30 June 2027.
Renewed focus on specific skills
The new QCTO qualifications are intended to be more targeted and specific to the occupational profile of the learners, which is intended to enhance the quality of the training and qualifications.
By designing qualifications that are more closely aligned with the specific skills and knowledge needed for a particular occupation, the QCTO aims to ensure that learners are better prepared for the workplace and have the skills and knowledge needed to contribute to the economy. This approach is intended to benefit not only the learners themselves but also employers, industry bodies, and the economy as a whole.
Implications and immediate actions for HR
All Sector and Training Authorities (SETAs) will report to the QCTO, and while SETAs are licensed until 2030 and will continue with their current responsibilities, they will also have additional responsibilities as Development Quality Partners (DQP) and Assessment Quality Partners (AQP) for occupational qualifications.
In addition, the duration of some learnerships will be increased to two years, and in some cases, five years.
It’s critical for Skills Development Providers (SDPs) to get accredited and align themselves with AQPs to move from the SETA space to the QCTO space as soon as possible.
This is especially important for companies that rely on skills development programmes for B-BBEE level points.
ON QCTO Assessment:
You will learn and understand this document very well: https://www.fpmseta.org.za/downloads/Curriculum_and_Assessment_Policy.pdf

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