Purpose of the Skills Development Act

Purpose of the Skills Development Act (1998)

The stated purpose of the Skills Development Act (SDA) 1998 is:

a) to develop the skills of the South African workforce

i     to improve the quality of life of workers, their prospects of work and labour mobility

ii    to improve productivity in the workplace and the competitiveness of employers

iii   to promote self-employment; and

iv   to improve the delivery of social services

b) to increase the levels of investment in education and training in the labour market and to improve the return on that investment

c) to encourage employers

i     to use the workplace as an active learning environment

ii    to provide employees with the opportunities to acquire new skills

iii   to provide opportunities for new entrants to the labour market to gain work experience;

and

iv   to employ persons who find it difficult to be employed

d) to encourage workers to participate in learnerships and other training programmes

e) to improve the employment prospects of persons previously disadvantaged by unfair discrimination and to redress those disadvantages through training and education

f) to ensure the quality of education and training in and for the workplace g)  to assist

i     work-seekers to find work

ii    retrenched workers to re-enter the labour market

iii        employers to find qualified employees; and

iv   to provide and regulate employment services.