The format of the new Occupational Certificates in comparison to legacy qualifications.

Occupational Certificates (OC) will be replacing legacy qualifications and are geared towards certain occupations and professions. They will provide students with relevant knowledge, practical skills and work experience which will prepare them for the role they are studying for.

These Occupational Certificates will be nationally recognised qualifications from NQF level 1 to 8 and will be based on industry standards as they are designed to equip learners with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed within a particular occupation. Being career-orientated there will be a wide range of fields, including construction, engineering, health, finance, and more, aimed at progressive study within each occupational field. This change of system is part of the National Skills Development Plan 2030, which has the primary aim of determining occupations in high demand, improving the responsiveness of the post-school education and training system to the needs of the economy and contributing to the broader developmental objectives of the country.  

These qualifications will be designed, developed and maintained by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations. Occupational certificates have a different format and structure compared to legacy qualifications, from design to the assessment process. Here are some of the most important differences between the QCTO curriculum structure and the legacy qualification format:

1. Legacy qualifications are made up of separate unit standards, each catering for the achievement of certain outcomes and essential knowledge, while also understanding the links between different areas of knowledge. OCs are curriculum-based and have specifications for knowledge modules, practical modules and work experience modules.
   
2. Each legacy unit standard can be offered as separate learning programmes or combined with other related unit standards to form a “bigger” learning programme, all of which feed into the National Learners’ Records Database. This meant that learning could be accumulated in bite-size pieces factoring towards a qualification. On the other hand, OC modules of learning cannot stand alone and either form a full qualification, a part qualification or a skills programme.
3. Legacy qualifications are not compared internationally. OC qualifications are compared internationally to ensure that South African qualifications are on par with international requirements and trends.
4. Legacy qualifications and unit standards being outcomes based tended to be vaguer and more open to interpretation, whereas OC qualifications are designed under the supervision of a registered Development Quality Partner (DQP) with input from industry and have a more detailed and focused curriculum.
5. Legacy qualifications list the benefits that a particular role would achieve from the qualification or unit standard. OC qualifications provide an occupational profile, which provides the occupational purpose, tasks and context. This occupational description is so detailed that it is similar to a job description.
6. Legacy qualifications and unit standards were taught by a facilitator and assessed by an assessor in both formative and summative assessments before the learner was found competent. With OC qualifications, there is an internal assessment to ensure the preparedness of the learner, and once the learner has completed the 3 areas of the curriculum, they will apply to write the External Integrated Summative Assessment (EISA). This is an exam, approximately 4-hours long, completed under exam conditions at assessment centres and will cover key elements of the theory and practical skills.

Although this change is going to be a learning curve for many service providers, it will ultimately develop a more skilled workforce within each particular sector and improve quality control to ensure that learners are competent to perform the job at hand.

Heidi Kilian

Head: Training Academy

References:

iFundi. (2019). The difference between the legacy qualifications curriculum and the QCTO curriculum format (online). Available from: https://ifundi.co.za/the-difference-between-the-legacy-qualifications-curriculum-and-the-qcto-curriculum-format/ [accessed: 12 September 2023]