The Vocational Training Fund (VTF)
Dissemination Workshop to
Bota Stakeholders on VTF
Survey Results
Presented By: Mr Tshepo E Nkitseng
24 November 2011
1
Presentation Overview
•
•
•
•
Introduction
Administration of Fund
Payment and Calculation of Levy
Reimbursements
2
Introduction
Introduction
Informed by :
•1993 Commission on Education
• Revised National Policy on Education (1994)
• National Policy on V E & Training (1997)
• Vocational Training Act (1998)
• Pre-Implementation Seminars (2007/2008)
•Vocational Training (reimbursement ) No8/08
• Vocational training (levy ) no 101 0f 2008
•Levy payments commenced October 2008
3
GOALS
• To generate sufficient funds to support
skills training by employers and therefore
increase skills base at the workplace
• Support the goal of cost-sharing in skills
development in Botswana
• To bring together supply and demand for
training
• Create opportunities in the training market
4
Payment Calculation
• The amount of levy is based on the annual
turnover of any Botswana company that is
registered under the VAT Act or is liable for VAT
at the following rates:
– Annual turnover of P500,000 – P2 billion- levy = 0.2% of
turnover
– Annual turnover of more than P2 billion, contribution is 0.2%
of turnover for the first 2 billion and 0.05% for any amount in
excess of the P2 billion.
– Oil Industry, contribution is a flat 0.05% on turnover relating to
petroleum products
5
Reimbursement
• Company must be up-to-date in paying Levy
• Vocational Training that falls within the regulatory
requirements (Accredited Institution or workplace)
• Only training of citizens is claimable except for special
cases where training of non-citizens is approved in
advance by BOTA.
• Prior approval by BOTA for training sourced outside
Botswana
6
Reimbursement
Formula/ Limit
• There are two grant limits
• 1) Limit based on amount of Levy (Formula)
– Every P1.00 paid as levy up to a maximum of P1,000.00 shall
generate a grant of P5.00
– Every P1.00 paid as levy in excess of P1,000.00 but below
P5,000.00 shall generate a grant of P2.50
Every P1.00 paid as levy in excess of P5,000.00 shall generate a grant
of P1.25
2) The total training costs incurred
The approved reimbursement is the lesser
of the two limits.
7
Reimbursement Formula/
Limit
• Example:
If turnover =P1,000,000 then Levy paid = P2,000
1) Grant limit based on levy is:
P1000*5 +P1000*2.5 = P7,500.00
2a) If training costs are P10,000
Then the approved reimbursement will be P7,500.00
2b) But if training cost incurred is P4500
Then the approved reimbursement will be P4500
8
Application for
Reimbursement
• Use the VTF claim form( from BOTA or
www.bota.org.bw) and attach the following:
• Certified copy Omang for person(s) trained;
• Original receipts or certified copies showing payment for
tuition, accommodation, transport, meals and stationary;
• Signed spreadsheet showing salary data;
• Certified trainee transcripts or certificates showing
competencies;
• Certified copies of attendance register;
• Pre - Approval letter, if training was outside Botswana
When can I Claim?
1st April
31st March
30th June
Window Period
Claims must have been lodged with the Authority on or before the
30th of June of each year
EXEMPTIONS
•
Entities with an Annual Turn-over of less than
P500, 000.00;
• Entities exempt from registering for VAT;
• Companies registered with Diamond hub;
• Companies registered with Innovation hub;
(Exemption for the last two is for 5 years from date of registration )
Allocation to Special
Groups
At the beginning of each financial year,
BOTA shall allocate funds as follows:
• 2.5% for special groups
• 1% for skills in emergent industries
• 5% for small micro and medium
enterprises
12
Claims as at 30th Sep 2011
Levy
Payers
Beneficiaries
Number of Employees up-skilled
through VTF
±10000
2748 Applications
(723 companies)
19084
Levy Update Information
•
•
•
•
Total number of Levy paying organisations
± 10000
Cumulative collection as at end of October 2011: P517 Million
Cumulative claims paid as at end October 2011: P 84 Million
Coming from 731 Companies: ≈ 7%
14
Vocational Training Fund
Survey Results
Presented By Mr Mathews Phiri
Objectives of the study
1) To assess the major achievements of the
Fund to date in relation to its stated
objectives and intended results:
 Assess what has been achieved, the
likelihood of future achievements, and the
significance/ strategic importance of the
achievements.
 Opinions on the Fund’s effectiveness based
on impressions and interviews with target
groups.
 Describe any major failures to date
Objectives cont…..
2)The level and specific nature of the
companies concerns in relation to the
Fund.
3)Additional regulatory arrangements that
can be done to promote the usage of the
Fund and bring benefit
4)Any other relevant matter that can
enhance the development of human
capital through the Fund.
Target population
All companies that were
registered with BURS and
eligible to contribute, claim or
use the Vocational Training
Fund by the end of
December 2010.
±9000 companies
 A self administered questionnaire
was used to collect data for the
study.
Simple random sampling was
used and 600 questionnaires were
sent out to levy payers.
353 completed questionnaires
were received back.
Analysis
 Data
entry, cleaning and
analysis were done using
Statistical Package for Social
Sciences
(SPSS)
and
Microsoft Excel
Results
Response by company type
Key:
Company Type
Frequency
NGOs
Parastatal
Training Institution
Work-based
5
8
10
10
Private
Total
320
353
Awareness of the VTF
among companies
Are you knowledgeable about the VTF?
Frequency
Percent
Yes
242
69
No
111
31
Total
353
100
Effective means of
disseminating information on
VTF.
How would you prefer us to provide most
communication about the VTF
Frequency
Percent
Email
186
53.4%
Phone
20
5.7%
Postal Mail
39
11.2%
Face to Face
33
9.5%
BOTA Website
66
19.0%
Other
4
1.1%
Total
348
100.0%
Training by Employer
Does your Organization/Company train its staff? Frequency Percent (%)
Yes
297
84
No
56
16
Total
353
100
Reasons for not training staff
46.3
17.1
14.6
4.9
Lack of funds
No need for
Employees do
training as staff not see the need
are either
for training
qualified or learn
on the job
9.8
7.3
No accredited
training
institutions in
location of
Company
Training to be
organised in
future/still
growing
Other
Levels of training required by industry:
Certificate Level
Very Important,
19.78%
Most Important,
44.78%
Important,
23.50%
Not Important,
5.97%
Less Important,
5.97%
Diploma Level
Less Important,
9.84%
Not Important,
9.45%
Most Important,
20.47%
Important,
29.13%
Very Important,
31.11%
Degree Level
Less Important,
16.08%
Important, 23.14%
Not Important,
16.07%
Very Important,
15.69%
Most Important,
29.02%
Employers perception on what they like
about the VTF
50
45
42
40
Percentages
35
30
26
25
20
16
15
10
10
6
5
0
Develops and
empowers
staff/employees
Encourages
companies to train
Staff
support/Assistance to
VTF customers
Have no complaints
about VTF
Good initiative
Major Challenges faced by employers
Reasons for dislikes about the VTF
Employers perception on what they dislike about the VTF
Percentage (%)
Procedures and documentation for accessing the Fund too cumbersome
41
Adequate information about the VTF is not provided
21
Does not cover degree/professional courses
17
Delay in payments
9
Fund is irrelevant to the needs this organisation
7
Other
5
Total
100
Major challenges facing the VTF Division
Few claims
In complete submissions
Use of non-accredited training providers
Companies not seeking pre-approvals
No training needs analysis/plan done
Exorbitant Pricing of programmes by VTI’s
when doing training for Levy payers;
Limited scope of training;
An influx of training providers in Botswana
Major challenges faced by Companies in
their efforts to train
Lack funding to finance training before re-imbursement
No relevant institution/trainers locally
Staff turn-over after training
Other
Lack of support for post certificate training by the VTF
Lack of time
Lack of motivation for self improvement
Replacement of workers on training
8%
9%
7%
7%
7%
12%
26%
24%
Suggested Improvement to
the operations of the VTF
40
35
Code
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
34.7
30
25
20
15.7
15
13.2
10.7
10
7.4
5
5
5
3.3
3.3
1.7
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Variable
More information on the VTF to beneficiaries
VTF to cover post certificate training
Reimburse trainers directly
Time taken to process applications for reimbursement should be reduced
Service delivery by VTF officers
Other
Period for claims should be extended
No changes required
VTF to be made user friendly
VTF to cover courses that are not accredited
Suggestions to the funding scope
70
65.7
60
50
40
30
16.4
20
14.9
10
3
0
Tertiary/Professional
courses
Internship/on the job
training/attachments
Incentives to trainees
Other
Suggestions to provide quality accredited training
25.0
% of the Respondents
22.2
22.2
18.9
20.0
15.0
12.2
11.1
10.0
7.8
5.6
5.0
0.0
Pre-finance/Reimburse trainers directly
Provide companies with information on BOTA accredited institutions
Provide information on VTF to companies
Quality of trainers and assessors should be improved
Simplify VTF procedures
VTF should cover post certificate training
Other
Recommendations
BOTA should consider increasing the use of the email
and the website to communicate with levy payers.
The Authority should provide adequate information
and education about the VTF.
The procedures and documentation guiding the
application for reimbursement should be reviewed,
with the aim of making them more user-friendly and
quicker to applicants.
The scope of the Fund should be reviewed to include
other levels of training beyond certificate such as
diploma, degree, masters, professional courses
(CIMA, ACCA, AAT, MBA etc) and work
improvement seminars.
The Fund should be used to support other
training related activities such as:
• Internships, attachments and on the jobtraining
• Conducting training needs analysis for
companies which pay the levy
• Paying for training materials
• To cover for product related training, such
as those commonly carried out by
manufacturers and distributors.
The Fund should pay for training costs
upfront alongside the reimbursement
approach. This will assist levy payers
who are experiencing cash flow
problems.
For growth in quality training, the VTF
should also be used to upgrade trainers
for them to attain full accreditation. Lack
of qualified trainers is a serious problem
in Botswana
Considerations should be made for the
Fund to cover employees who have
paid for their own training, by allowing
them to submit claims through their
employers- if their employers are levy
payers.
BOTA should consider developing
standardized forms which would be
used when applying for training outside
Botswana.
“UP SKILLING BATSWANA”
THANK YOU