What are the benefits of learnerships to employers?

As the learnerships are developed by industry for the industry, and in consultation with all stakeholders, the learning programmes and qualifications linked to these learnerships are relevant to the specific occupation.  When learners partake in a learnership there is a greater credibility of the qualifications as the employer has the assurance that the learners can demonstrate not only theory competence but practical competence as well.

 

As learnerships combine both practical and theory outcome of a qualification, they provide skilled people who:

  • tend to work more independently, need less supervision and possess enhanced problem-solving capabilities;
  • are motivated and strive to add value to the business;
  • are less likely to leave a company that takes an interest and invests in their personal and professional development;
  • entering into learning contracts with unemployed people, contributes to building up the skills pool, from which employers may recruit relevant skills as needed;
  • have more skills. The more skills gained, the greater the productivity and the more meaningful the individual’s contribution to South Africa’s global competitiveness and to creating an environment conducive to investment.

 

By placing un-employed learners on a learnership, the employer has access to a wider pool of appropriately qualified workers who have developed skills that are relevant to the company’s specific work context.

 

Furthermore, there is an increased return on investment when implementing training initiatives.  Not only are there BEE benefits, but there are:

  • Higher returns from the Skills Levy and investment in training, due to transfer of learning to the job.
  • Increased grant disbursements from Skills Levy contributions. Many SETAs offer Learnership grants ranging from R 4 000 – R 40 000 per learner. However, the grants are subject to availability and are offered on a first come, first serve basis on the condition that the Learnership address a scarce skill in the sector.
  • Tax Incentives: SARS offers companies attractive tax incentives for participating in Learnerships. Tax Incentives are deductions on your taxable income that you can claim for each Learnership candidate that you have in your employment, once at the start of the Learnership, and once again at its completion.
    1. For learnerships entered into after 1 October 2016 but before 1 April 2022
      • The allowance will depend on the NQF (National Qualification Framework) level of the learnership. For NQF level 1-6, the employer can claim a tax allowance of R40,000 (R60,000 for disability) per year and for NQF level 7-10 it can claim a tax allowance of R20,000 (R50,000 for disability) per year. 
      • The employer can claim a R40,000 "completion allowance" for NQF level 1-6 (R60,000 for disability) and R20,000 for NQF level 7-10 (R50,000 for disability). 
      • If the Learnership exceeds 24 months, then the completion allowance is multiplied by the number of consecutive 12-month periods within the duration of that learnership.

 

What are the benefits of learnerships for learners?


The following are the benefits of learnerships for learners:

  • Better employment opportunities afterwards;
  • Fixed-term employment contract for the duration of the Learnership;
  • Learnerships improve on the job performance so they are able to do things relevant to the job;
  • A nationally-recognised qualification that is relevant to the sector;
  • Earning a learner allowance for the duration of the Learnership.