REFERENCE DOCUMENT TO DISCRETIONARY GRANT GUIDELINES
2011 – 2012
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The overall purpose of the Funding Programme is to shape the foundation for Skills Development within
the Chemical Sector and to stimulate meaningful participation in the skills development process. This
‘Reference Document’ is provided as a means for understanding and focussing on the key
deliverables associated with the four Strategic Funding Categories outlined in the Discretionary Grants
Guidelines for 2011-2012.The intention here is to provide enough clarity so that applications can target
their proposals to the intention of the Funding. This seeks not to limit, but clarify the deliverables the
CHIETA requires in terms of the outcomes that must be achieved through the Funding Categories.
1. Establishing a credible institutional mechanism for Skills Planning:
The CHIETA’s strategic objective here is to provide a mechanism that will provide credible information
with regards to the supply and demand for skills within the CHIETA & communicate emerging trends to
inform planning to meet the Chemical Industries skills needs. Priority will be given to proposals to
provide the following:
 Proposals to professionally conduct research on the SSP and provide a sound analysis
of the Chemical Sector and then articulate an agreed Sector Strategy to address these
skills needs. There is currently no integrated mechanism that provides credible
information and analysis with regards to the supply and demand for skills. Research
must be mandated to gather these data and to analyse and interpret the data for a
meaningful report on trends so that a logical prediction of future trends in the sector can
be provided.
 Research Identified on Mid-Level Skills Needs to ensure continuous upgrade of skills in
the workforce & ensure a measurable increase in the intermediate skills pool.
 Proposals to develop a framework for determining skills supply, shortages and
vacancies and developing an integrated information system for skills supply and
demand.
 Proposals to develop solid baseline indicators that can document and communicate
recent and emerging trends so that essential planning is in place to meet the skills needs
and guiding the investment in education and training provision.
 Proposals to develop a credible Management Information On-Line (real time)System that
is widely accessible to all stakeholders as an institutional mechanism for skills planning
as contemplated in the NSDS 3 that will assist the CHIETA in the following areas :
1. A system to track and trace all learning programmes, learners entering and exiting
workplaces,learnerships,artisans trades,etc.
2. A system to analyse and measure the impact of Skills Training on the economy and
provide a framework for the measurement of the Return on Investment.
3. An electronic system to provide accurate reporting and analysis on Discretionary
Grants , WSP / ATR and strategic projects data
The CHIETA’s vision is that all of the above elements are integrated in to a comprehensive
Management Information System for the Chemical Industry that is aligned to the National Institutional
Mechanism for skills planning.
2. Partnerships
The partnership and the collective responsibility between stakeholders are critical to achieving our
aspirations of a higher economic growth and development, enhanced productivity, creating a skilled
and capable workforce to support skills development and creating mechanisms to provide work
integrated learning and workplace experience. The CHIETA needs to establish innovative partnerships
of working together with stakeholders to improve efficiency, quality, and most importantly the impact of
education, skills development and training. These partnerships require that we improve the linkages
between universities, universities of technology’s and FET Colleges, SETA’s and employers. This
includes promoting training to meet the needs of both the public and private sector employers and
increased research collaboration with our industry partners. Partnerships and collaboration must also
be extended to support the role of community partnerships in planning and delivering local employment
and skills support services. The following partnership agreements and memorandum of understandings
will be considered:
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Proposals to prepare graduates with the appropriate scarce and critical skills
Proposals that will contribute to the research development as is indicated in “Establishing a
credible institutional mechanism for Skills Planning” deliverables above.
Partnerships with organisations to develop ISoE’s for the 5 Chemical Industries Chambers
Partnership agreements with universities, universities of technologies and FET’s to provide
work integrated learning and provide workplace experience
Partnerships with HEI’s to broaden access to post-secondary education and improve the
higher education throughput rate including access for people with disabilities
Partnerships that ensure training and skills development initiatives in the country that respond
to the requirements of the economy, rural development challenges and social integration. The
main aim would be to increase the number of skilled staff in the priority skills areas aimed at
equipping the unemployed and vulnerable with the requisite skills to overcome poverty and
unemployment.
Partnerships to strengthen the capacity of public FET Colleges in programmes that create and
nurture small enterprises within the Chemical Industries Sector.
Partnerships with public FET’s to FET will play a significant role in providing a second-chance
education to those who do not succeed in the completing their secondary education
Partnerships with Research Institutions to undertake research and development commissioned
by the CHIETA for each sub-sector.
3. Encouraging and supporting Cooperatives
The CHIETA must support the training needs of cooperatives, including relevant capacity building
for the secondary, apex and cooperative sector as a whole. The CHIETA will work closely with the
DHET, Dti, Land Reform and Rural Development to support the training needs of cooperatives. The
ultimate goal is to support the Dti with the establishment of a Cooperative Training Academy to
deliver customised skills development programmes to cooperatives.
The following proposals will be considered:
 Co-operative training programmes that are aligned with registered unit standards and make
use of outcomes based learning materials that incorporate South African co-operative
management principles, which have been adapted for local relevance.
 Programmes must be designed to capacitate co-operative members working across the
chemical related types of co-operatives
 Proposals that will provide organisational and management skills training programmes for
Cooperatives
 Education and training practitioner (train-the-trainer) programme
 Development of unit standards based learning materials for both co-operative members as
well as facilitators
 Capacitation of facilitators and assessors to provide and quality assure training
interventions
4. Building Career and Vocational Guidance
There is a lack of guidance to direct young people to programmes for which they have an aptitude.
A funding category of the CHIETA discretionary grants programme is dedicated to support career and
vocational guidance. The following programmes and proposals will be considered to address this
category:
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The development of Career Guides that addresses the scarce and critical areas of the CHIETA
qualifications and their associated career paths that will be contributing to the relevance of
training, mobility and progression
The development of a Graduate Guide that will create opportunities for these graduates within
the Chemical Industries Sector
The development of a Maths and Science Career Guide to address the skills demands of the
growing economy
The development of a Post Matric Career Guide to provide choices for young people especially
from disadvantaged backgrounds and rural areas
A national CHIETA Career Guide that will assist learners careers within the chemical sector that
will have potential for employment or create employment. This Career Guide must provide the
different career opportunities within the sector and explain the occupations that make up the
sector to indicate the potential growth areas and training opportunities
All Guides must be informed by research that is linked to all Occupational Learning Pathways
including the academic learning areas and the career mobility areas relating to the workplace
training.