News

Dear Valued Stakeholder

The Skills Development and Innovation Directorate currently have six different programmes that
are funded by Provincial Treasury:

• Work and Skills Programme (stipend support between 3 and 12 months)
• Artisan Development Programme (stipend support for up to 18 months)
• BPO Skills Development Programme (stipend support for 3-12 months)
• Clothing and Textile Programme (stipend support for 3-12 months)
• Technology Programme (stipend support for 3-12 months)
• Hospitality Programme (stipend support for 3-12 months)

These Programmes facilitates experiential learning and work placement opportunities for unemployed youth in the Western Cape’s high job-yielding, priority economic sectors aligned to the department's strategy which is to improve the future employment prospects of beneficiaries, between the ages of 18 - 35 years. This 3 to 12 month placement opportunity combines technical and soft skills training in the context of “hands-on” work experience.

Criteria for host companies
To be considered to participate in these Programmes, companies need to:
• Be registered entities;
• Provide written guarantee to provide employment to beneficiaries after the experiential
placement period;
• Be able to provide a monthly co-payment of a minimum of R500,00 to the beneficiary,
which shall be in addition to the DEDAT funded stipend. DEDAT will reimburse the monthly
stipend to companies enrolled on the Programme;
• Provide mentorship for the beneficiaries to ensure the appropriate support, skills transfer and
assessment of participants.
• Beneficiaries supported through the ADP programme will have additional workplace
approval requirements as per the criteria of the programme.
• Beneficiaries must not have been employed in a similar role in the industry
• Beneficiaries should not have been supported by a DEDAT programme in previous years.
• Should a lead company apply- the lead company must have confirmed host companies who will provide the workplace opportunities to the beneficiaries.
• Host companies who want to apply for ADP funding where the beneficiaries are doing the QCTO qualifications (3 year programme), DEDAT will only fund the final year of the learners due to the commitment of employment after the DEDAT intervention.

Benefits to host companies
• Matching of skills demand and supply;
• The programme allows the business to focus on developing the beneficiaries(s) aligned to specific skills required; and
• Allow the company to access the intern during the placement period.

Criteria for beneficiaries to be recruited by host companies for all four programmes are as follows (unless indicated otherwise)
• Must be between 18 and 35 years of age;
• Be an unemployed (unemployed at time of application) South African citizen who reside in the Western Cape;
• Host company sites must reside in the Western Cape;
• Beneficiaries should not be repeating the internship;
• Beneficiaries should not have been employed by the Lead or Host company in the past
• Beneficiaries should not have been employed within the sector before (in the case of BPO Companies)

Interested companies that would like to host youth during the Financial Year 2024/25 are invited to submit the following documents:
• Expression of Interest (template on the website)
• Motivation letter (template on the website)
• Description of the activities to be undertaken by the respective beneficiaries
• Declaration of Interest by Company(template on website)
• Guarantee to Employment by Company (template on the website)
• Stipend schedule (template on the website)

Documents need to be submitted to the following email address: Dedat.Placement@westerncape.gov.za

Once all the above mentioned documents were received, the company will be evaluated by a Company Selection Committee to determine if the company can be supported based on pre-determined criteria. Successful and unsuccessful companies will be informed within 30 days after submission of all relevant documents.

Company Selection Criteria may include, but not limited to the following criteria:
• Alignment to the Department’s strategy,
• Type of occupation,
• Nature of experiential learning training provided to the beneficiaries during the placement period,
• Nature of training programmes provided by the company to the beneficiaries,
• Urban vs rural footprint
• The Department’s experience of past performance of the applicant company:
o Administrative performance
o Adherence to past commitments
• Financial commitment to beneficiaries by the applicant company (top up stipend)
• Guarantee to placing beneficiaries.

The weighting or criteria may change based on the Department’s priorities, prevailing economic situation and societal needs.

Notwithstanding stated financial support by the Department to host companies in employing unemployed persons, the Department’s financial support to companies is dependent on available funds. All onboarding must commence within two months after allocation letter has been received from the Department.

The Department will evaluate Expression of Interest and supporting documents within one month after receipt of the completed documents. Formal communication in the form of a letter will be sent to the relevant companies.

The Department may oversubscribe its budget and therefore reserves the right to terminate stipend support for the last two months of any signed memoranda of agreement. Companies therefore must understand that they take on stipend risk for the last two months of the Department’s stipend commitment.

Should companies fail to meet the conditions stipulated in their respective Expressions of Interest, the Department has the right to recoup some or all of its funds back. Non- delivery will also result in future Expressions of Interest to be declined, based on previous experience.

Nezaam Joseph
Chief Director: Skills Development and Innovation

Department of Economic Development and Tourism | Skills Development and Innovation
www.westerncape.gov.za