Introduction
In recent years, South Africa’s education and training landscape underwent a crucial transformation. As the country transitioned from an 8-level to a 10-level National Qualifications Framework (NQF), several pre-2009 occupational qualifications were rendered outdated or misaligned with current needs. These qualifications, once valuable, had not kept pace with technological, industrial, and economic developments. This raised urgent questions for learners, industries, and skills development providers: What would happen to those qualifications, and how would the system respond?
To address these challenges, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO), and Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) led a collaborative effort to align all qualifications with the current Occupational Qualifications Sub-Framework (OQSF). A podcast titled Lifelong Learning in Focus captured this conversation, bringing together senior stakeholders to explain the transition, affirm the validity of qualifications, and reaffirm their commitment to keeping learners at the centre of the process.
