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Education & Training > Learnerships
The IPFA Learnerships: IPFA has rolled out its learnership programmes in 4 departments since 2003.
The pilot programme was in partnership with FASSET (Finance and Accounting Services Seta) and involved employed learners from the Department of Finance from the provincial treasuries of the Western Cape and Limpopo. Initially 25 learners enrolled of which 1 dropped out. Of the 24 learners that continued on the learnership, 16 graduated with a Certificate in Public Sector Accounting (a success rate of 66%) and 7 went on to graduate with a Diploma in Public Sector Accounting (a success rate of 44%).
The IPFA learnership was also piloted at the Department of Foreign Affairs, where 13 unemployed learners enrolled. 9 of these learners graduated with a Certificate in Public Sector Accounting, a success rate of almost 70%!
The PFSA (Public Financial Services Agency) enrolled 18 employed learners on the learnership, of which 16 successfully completed the Certificate in Public Sector Accounting and have moved onto year 2 leading to the Diploma in Public Sector Accounting, a success rate of 88%!
IPFA also rolled out the learnership in partnership with the PSETA. This was part of a massive skills development project which involved nearly 1000 learners on other learnerships such as human resources and information technology. 220 unemployed learners enrolled on the IPFA learnership, however 80 of these learners dropped out after finding employment, leaving 140 learners. The results of this learnership rollout were very disappointing, with only 18 learners graduating with a Certificate in Public Sector Accounting, a success rate of only 13%. The PSETA project closeout report made it clear that while the results are disappointing, the challenges encountered had nothing to do with the programme or its delivery, but rather the following factors:
- Lack of cooperation from project leaders appointed by PSETA.
- Workplace providers unaware of what was expected of them.
- Most workplaces did not appoint mentors, which are critical to the success of the project.
- Low levels of functional literacy and numeracy skills of learners.
- Poor workplace discipline spilled over into the classroom.
- Late or non-payment of stipends to learners.
- Late arrival and early departure from lectures.
- Lack of completion of assignments.
Learnership Challenges
One of the biggest challenges facing all learnerships leading to an NQF level 4 qualification is the very small pool of potential learners who meet the entry requirements in terms of their functional Literacy and Numeracy, which makes the recruitment and selection of learners problematic.
In addition, the successful rollout of any learnership programme is dependant on the abilities and commitment of mentors. Many individuals who would make highly effective mentors already have very heavy workloads and are often unwilling to take up this role.
Whilst learners spend a lot of time in classes, this is far outweighed by the amount of time they spend in the workplace. The workplace often has a very great impact on the rate at which a learner learns to apply the knowledge they have learnt, which a strength of the learnerships. However, workplaces often fail to take ownership of their learners and this leads to problems in the classroom and with workplace assessment.
Learnership Successes
The successful rollout of the IPFA learnerships has resulted in the development and refinement of 2 public sector accounting learnerships designed to cater specifically to the needs of the South African public sector at the accounting support staff level.
66 learners have graduated with skills specific to public finance as well as at least 1 year's work experience, making them highly valuable and employable.
Capacity has been built both in workplaces in terms of mentorship and management skills and at training providers.
Many lessons have been learnt that have informed the development of "Best Practice" in the rollout of learnership that have been used by FASSET in the rollout of other learnerships.
Why choose an IPFA Learnership?
The IPFA learnerships have been designed with the South African public sector in mind through a process that included extensive consultation with key stakeholders in the public finance arena as well as targeted research. The IPFA learnerships are focused on all the elements that produce highly competent public finance staff including soft skills such as personal effectiveness and ethics. The IPFA learnerships offer a total solution to the skills shortage amongst public finance support staff.
Learnership Brochure
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