• Africa Skills South Cape –  Training & Trade Test Centre based at Nkata Street, Thembalethu, George.
• Africa Skills Private College – Head Office based
• Appropriate hired premises nation- and continent wide
• In-house premises of the client / on-site training – nation- and continent wide

• Self-funded by individual or employer.
• Learnerships funded by a SETA.
• Skills Programmes funded by an individual, employer and/or a SETA.
• Apprenticeships funded by a SETA.
• Training funded by a SETA based on a Workplace Skills Plans (WSP).
• Bursaries if and when available.

You would be registered as an apprentice with Africa Skills Private College for a contracted period of three years and you would have signed a contract with us as well as the relevant SETA funding the apprenticeshop. Duration: 3 years, of which 8 weeks per year will be spent at Training & Trade Test Centre in George for theoretical and institutional training, and a further 9 months per year practical workplace based training/experience at a SETA verified Host Employer. Africa Skills will find the Host Employer on behalf of the learner and will the process will be managed and mentored by Africa Skills. Phase Tests will be conducted yearly and the full Trade Test will take place after the successful completion of the 3 years training. Hereafter the learner will receive their Red Seal.

In summary, an Apprentice:

• Has a contract of apprenticeship.
• Attends formalised institutionalised training.
• Must have passed the relevant Grade applicable to the type of artisan training applied for
• Must have a workplace that will provide the apprentice with onsite training.
• Must report to a qualified trades person/mentor with same qualifications at the Host Employer venue.
• Will do a trade test as a final evaluation to obtain Red Seal.

As an RPL (Recogncandidate, you will not have a contract of apprenticeship, but will have to prove a minimum of four years previous experience in your chosen trade through submission of either logbooks, letters from the companies you worked for or similar proof that can be substantiated. Potential RPL candidates will be screened and pre-tested – applicable and appropriate gap training will be implemented over a period of up to 6 months, depending on the need and the ability of the candidate. A complete Trade Test will then be required as a final evaluation and in order to obtain a Red Seal.

In summary a RPL candidate:

• Has no contract of apprenticeship.
• Attends formalised institutionalised training where applicable.
• Must have at least 4 year’s proven workplace experience relevant to the training schedule of the trade for which the candidate is applying.
• Will do a trade test as an evaluation to obtain Red Seal.

Artisans are the backbone of the economy. Without the technical support of the artisans, our infrastructure will collapse. Apprenticeships are a great way to get a head start in a career. Future artisans can combine time at work with training to gain a nationally recognized qualification and the experience they need to get the job they want. The South African Government has identified a number of scarce and critical skills and the National Skills Development Strategy III marked Apprenticeship Development as a priority. At the same time too many skilled labourers are working for too long without the necessary recognition or receiving the opportunity to be certified as an artisan. 2013 saw some ground breaking interventions taking place in the ambit of critical skills development, and it all started in February 2013 when the Minister of Higher Education, Dr Blade Nzimande, officially declared and launched the “Year of the Artisan” and later on the “Decade of the Artisan” initiatives.

The Minister made the following statement: “Closely associated with the expansion of education and training opportunities is the question of raising the status of vocational training. The idea that trades and other vocational programmes are only for those who can’t get into university is deeply ingrained in our society and has a detrimental effect on our ability to develop the skills required by our labour market, not to mention the status of those who make a very important contribution to our economy and society. With the launch of “2013: The Year of the Artisan”, we are actively changing this misconception, and working towards making TVET Colleges, and the artisan and other career-based training programmes that they offer, the option of choice for the majority of our youth – and other out of school adults – who take this route”.

The Skills Development Act No. 97 of 1998 allows a candidate to attempt a trade test as a registered apprentice, or as a person who has prior learning (RPL) experience.