Directorates and Divisions

Executive Office

SAQA is charged with the following responsibilities:

• advance the objectives of the NQF;
• oversee the further development of the NQF; and
• co-ordinate the sub-frameworks.

The Executive Office is therefore responsible to, through effective leadership and effective governance; ensure the aligned development of human, financial and infra-structural resources, to support the achievement of the organisational objectives.

The strategic role of the Executive Office includes:

• establishing partnerships to ensure systemic co-ordination, coherence and resource alignment to the benefit of learners, in line with the national Human Resource Development Strategy
• ensuring that policy makers and major stakeholders recognise and value the role of SAQA and the NQF in the establishment of recognised learning and career path systems
• facilitating informed decision-making and good governance through the organisation, management and dissemination of high quality information to the Board and its committees.

There are ten directorates which are responsible to the Executive Officer:

1. Directorate: Career Advice Services
2. Directorate: Registration and Recognition
3. Directorate: Foreign Qualifications Evaluation and Advisory Services
4. Directorate: National Learners' Records Database
5. Directorate: Advocacy, Communication and Support
6. Directorate: International Liaison
7. Directorate: Research
8. Directorate: Human Resources
9. Directorate: Information Technology
10. Directorate: Finance and Administration

The Directorate: Career Advice Services

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The national Career Advice Service is a flagship project of the Minister of Higher Education and Training that plans to deliver services to citizens through a series of sub-projects, including:

1. A radio campaign to reach about 2.3 million people each week in rural areas via nine radio stations in nine African languages;
2. A series of national and regional events, including the Mandela Day Career Guidance Festival and career exhibitions around the country;
3. A telephone helpline to support learners, parents, teachers, career advisors and institutions - those with access to telephones or cell phones;
4. Facebook & Twitter sites to engage the online community, enabling the wider public to engage with supporting career advice;
5. A network of partner organisations or "Intermediaries” to help provide a network of career advisors and walk-in centres for learners in rural areas;
6. Career Advice Toolkits (portable libraries) and other printed materials are being produced and will be distributed to colleges and other partners.
7. A Website - or "super portal" for career advice support to learners, parents, teachers and career advisors;
8. A technology system to support Helpline staff (this includes the management of telephone calls, emails, SMSs, faxes, letters, FaceBook wall), data capture, knowledge management and monitoring.
9. Newspaper articles for career advice supplements as a part of the national campaign for Career Advice.

The Directorate: Registration and Recognition

Registration and Recognition works with other relevant SAQA directorates to carry out some of the functions SAQA is responsible for, such as:

• developing and implementing policy and criteria, after consultation with the QCs for the development, registration and publication of qualifications and part-qualifications;
• registering qualifications or part-qualifications recommended by QCs if they meet the relevant criteria;
• develop and implement policy and criteria, after consultation with the QCs, for assessment, recognition of prior learning and credit accumulation and transfer.
• develop and implement policy and criteria for recognising a professional body and registering a professional designation, after consultation with statutory and non-statutory bodies of expert practitioners in occupational fields and with the QCs;
• recognise a professional body and register its professional designation if the relevant criteria have been met.

The Directorate: Foreign Qualifications Evaluation and Advisory Services

SAQA has the task of evaluating educational qualifications that have been obtained in education and training systems of countries other than South Africa. People with foreign qualifications who wish to attend South African education institutions or who wish to enter the South African labour market apply to SAQA to have their qualifications evaluated. The Directorate for Foreign Qualifications Evaluation and Advisory Services is responsible for this function. Click here (PDF) to view the application form.

The Directorate: National Learners' Records Database

The National Learners' Records Database (NLRD) is the management information system of the National Qualifications Framework. The NLRD holds records of SAQA and its sub-structures (e.g. SGBs); qualifications and unit standards registered on the NQF; accredited ETQAs and their accredited providers; registered assessors; moderating bodies; and individual learners and their achievements. The NLRD provides decision-makers with comprehensive information, especially in the fields of labour market trends and education and training, as well as verification of qualifications obtained by individuals in South Africa.

The Directorate: Advocacy, Communication and Support

The Advocacy, Communication and Support (ACS) Directorate is responsible for assisting SAQA in ensuring that the organisation's core responsibilities (the further development and implementation of the NQF), products, services and brands are recognised, understood and valued by its three main audiences:

• NQF Policy Makers including SAQA principals, key stakeholders and policy influencers;
• NQF Policy Implementers including the wider Education, Training and Development and Human Resources sectors; and
• NQF Policy Beneficiaries including learners at school, college, university and within the workplace.

It is important that Policy Makers understand SAQA, the NQF and all SAQA's initiatives, products and services as important parts of the system of learning.

Policy Implementers must understand the NQF objectives, structures, policies and procedures in order to ensure that learners can realise the benefits of having an effective and efficient NQF. For Policy Beneficiaries, it is important they understand SAQA and the NQF so that they are able to utilise the NQF to navigate the education and training landscape and make wise qualification and career choices.

To achieve this, the ACS team undertakes to do market research and regular assessments of the impact of the advocacy and communication interventions. The team will also develop strategies and plans to ensure the optimisation of advocacy and communication efforts. They will facilitate engagement with the three target audiences through the media (TV, radio, print, outdoor and digital media), directly by way of events, exhibitions, conferences and other similar activities. Direct engagement will also be through partnerships with organisations such as the Department of Higher Education and Training, the Department of Basic Education, the Quality Councils and SETAs.

In addition, the ACS Directorate provides information to its target audiences via the SAQA Resource and Information Centre, and the SAQA and NQF websites.

The resources include books, journals, access to online databases as well as a substantial collection of important documents and text resources.

ACS is also the custodian of Customer Service standards for SAQA and assists in resolving complaints and facilitates the promotion of excellent customer service...more

The Directorate: International Liaison

International Liaison has the broad vision of developing capacity within SAQA to increasingly collaborate with international partners on all matters of mutual interest concerning national and/or regional qualifications frameworks. The directorate has the following objectives: to actively contribute to the development of qualifications frameworks internationally; to identify and contribute to new and critical thinking related to qualifications frameworks; and to inform the development and implementation of the South African qualifications framework through involvement in international best practice. Click here for more information about the projects the International Liaison Directorate has been working on.

The Directorate: Research

This Directorate is responsible for a research and development strategy, which produces and distributes up-to-date information and knowledge for the benefit of SAQA's strategic partners and the education and training sector at large. Over the past few years, the unit was responsible for a number of research projects including the development of the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) policy. Click here for more information.

The Directorate: Human Resources

The Human Resources Directorate's main responsibility is attending to human resources related issues within the organisation. This includes managing the following f unctions:

• Recruitment, selection, and placement
• Training and development
• Policies and procedures governing all HR matters
• Labour relations
• Health and safety
• Career counselling
• Personnel administration

The Directorate also monitors SAQA's Employment Equity targets, reviews job descriptions and profiles, and Workplace Skills plans.

The Directorate: Information Technology

This Directorate is responsible for the management, support and maintenance of all SAQA information technology resources. This includes the management of service level agreements that are concluded with external service providers.

The Directorate: Finance and Administration

This Directorate manages the financial affairs of SAQA including the allocation of resources and the accounting, reporting, and control of income and expenditures. It also provides contract management advisory and consultation services and manages activities involving the delivery of administrative services to SAQA. The management of the SAQA premises also falls within the responsibility of this Directorate.