Key Legislation Strategies

Key legislation, government policies, strategies and programmes

The funding priorities of the National Skills Fund (NSF) are guided by key South African legislation and policies while maintaining alignment with several strategies and plans of government.

1996 - Constitution of the Republic of South Africa

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996) (the Constitution) is the supreme law of the country. All laws of the country must be consistent the Constitution, 1996 and all government institutions derive their mandate from it. The Constitution, 1996 makes provision for other legislations regarding planning and performance monitoring across the three spheres of government.

The National Skills Fund (NSF) derives its mandate from Sections 28(1) and 30B of the Skills Development Act, 1998 (Act 97 of 1998) (SDA). The SDA, 1998 supports Section 29(1) of the Bill of Rights, as enshrined in the Constitution, 1996, which outlines that everyone has the right to further education, which the state must make progressively available and accessible through reasonable measures.

2010 to 2020 National Growth Path Framework

The New Growth Path Framework, released in November 2010, has fixed six priority areas to job creation: infrastructure development, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, the green economy and tourism. The framework reflects the government’s commitment to prioritising employment creation in all economic policies and identifies strategies that will enable South Africa to grow in a more equitable and inclusive manner while attaining South Africa’s developmental agenda. A massive investment in infrastructure, as a critical driver of jobs across the economy, was key to the framework; as has been the improved coordination between institutions of the government and stronger partnerships with the private sector and organised labour towards leveraging resources in achieving the aims of the New Growth Path.

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2001 - National Skills Development Strategy

There have been three iterations of the National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS) between 2001 and 2019, which informed National Skills Fund’s (NSF’s) funding priorities during this period.

The emphasis during the regime of the NSDS I (2001 to 2005) was on equality and the need to cultivate lifelong learning in a workplace environment. Emphasis was placed on learning that should be demand driven, based on the needs of employees in both the public and private sectors.

The emphasis in the NSDS II (2005 to 2010) was placed again on equity, quality training and skills development in the workplace. The need for the promotion of employability was identified. The NSDS II also identified the need for assisting designated groups to gain knowledge and experience in a workplace environment in order to gain critical skills. The quality of the provision was identified as a problem area needing improvement.

The NSDS III (2011 to 2019) defined the NSF as a catalytic fund, enabling the state to drive key skills strategies and to meet the training needs of the unemployed, non-levy-paying co-operatives, non-governmental organisations, community structures and vulnerable groups. It is due to the NSDS III that the NSF promoted strategic partnerships and innovation in project delivery. In this period, the NSF continued to drive change towards partnership-based programmes and contribute to raising the low-base of education and training in the country, as guided by government policies of redress and promotion of equity.