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SolveSA Academy
Skills Development that builds your people & your score.
Accredited learning programmes designed to maximise your B-BBEE Skills Development impact – aligned to your business strategy, your workforce plan, and your human capital goals.
234
Programmes
NQF 1–9
All levels covered
QCTO 47
Quality assured
15
Accrediting bodies
18
Business sectors
Delivered with
in the Alternative Prosperity group.
✓ No extra fees on top of your B-BBEE spend — we just make it work harder.
Skills development in South Africa
Which learning programmes earn B-BBEE Skills Development points?
Most accredited learning counts, but not equally. Learnerships, apprenticeships and internships count twice: towards the 3.5% skills-spend target and the 5% learner headcount target. Bursaries have a separate 2.5% target. Workshops, unaccredited short courses and conferences count as informal training, which is capped at 25% of your total skills spend.
| Indicator | Target | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Skills spend on learning programmes for black people | 3.5% of leviable amount | 6 |
| Bursaries for black students at higher education institutions | 2.5% of leviable amount | 4 |
| Skills spend on black employees with disabilities | 0.3% of leviable amount | 4 |
| Black people on learnerships, apprenticeships and internships | 5% of total employees | 6 |
| Black learners absorbed into employment at the end of the programme | 100% | 5 bonus |
Skills Development is a priority element: score below 40% of its 20 points and your B-BBEE level drops by one. None of it counts unless your Workplace Skills Plan, Annual Training Report and PIVOTAL report have been approved by your SETA. The dates to plan around are in the B-BBEE year planner.
What is the difference between a learnership, an apprenticeship, a skills programme and an internship?
What the learner finishes with. A learnership ends in a registered occupational qualification or part-qualification. An apprenticeship is a learnership for a listed trade, ending in a trade test. A skills programme builds credits towards a qualification without being one. An internship gives workplace experience to someone who holds, or is studying towards, a qualification.
| Programme | What it leads to | Section 12H allowance | Counts towards 5% headcount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Learnership | A registered occupational qualification or part-qualification | Yes | Yes |
| Apprenticeship | An occupational qualification for a listed trade, including a trade test | Yes | Yes |
| Skills programme | Credits towards a full or part-qualification | No | No |
| Internship | Workplace experience for graduates or students | No | Yes |
| Bursary | Study at a higher education institution | No | No: it has its own 2.5% spend target |
The QCTO now accredits providers for occupational qualifications, part-qualifications and skills programmes, one qualification at a time. SETA accreditation letters issued before 1 June 2022 remain valid until they expire, and SETAs still quality-assure legacy qualifications on the QCTO’s behalf while those are phased out.
How much is the section 12H learnership tax allowance?
R40 000 a year for a learner on a qualification at NQF level 1 to 6, and R20 000 at NQF 7 to 10, with higher amounts for a learner with a disability. A completion allowance of the same amount is claimed when the learner finishes. It applies only to registered learnership agreements, apprenticeships included, entered into before 1 April 2027.
| NQF level of the qualification | Annual allowance | Learner with a disability |
|---|---|---|
| NQF 1 to 6 | R40 000 | R60 000 |
| NQF 7 to 10 | R20 000 | R50 000 |
The annual allowance is pro-rated where an agreement runs for less than 12 months, and the completion allowance is multiplied for agreements of two years or more. The learner must be employed by the business claiming it. SARS Interpretation Note 20 still gives the 1 April 2027 cut-off as at September 2026, so plan any new learnership intake with that date in mind.
Sources: Amended Codes of Good Practice, Statement 300 as substituted by Government Gazette 42496 (31 May 2019); SETA Work-Based Learning Programme Agreement Regulations, 2018; SARS Interpretation Note 20, issue 9; QCTO Accreditation Policy. As at September 2026.
Programme catalogue
Find the right programme
Search by keyword, filter by business sector, skills category, SETA or NQF level — or click a business sector tile below to explore.
Programme fees depend on learner numbers, funding route and delivery model, so they are quoted per client rather than listed. Programmes longer than 12 months are charged per year. Ask us for a quote on any programme here.
Common questions
Questions about Solve Academy
Do learnerships earn B-BBEE points?
Yes — this is the reason most companies come to us. Skills Development is worth 20 points plus 5 bonus points on the generic B-BBEE scorecard, and learnerships feed straight into it.
There are 6 points for the number of black people on learnerships, apprenticeships and internships, measured against a target of 5% of your total headcount. Your spend on those programmes also counts toward the 6 points for skills spend on black people, against a target of 3.5% of your leviable payroll. Absorbing learners at the end of the programme earns up to 5 bonus points.
Skills Development is also a priority element, which means falling below 40% of its points discounts your overall B-BBEE level by a full level. It is not an element you can quietly leave on the table.
There is a tax benefit alongside the points: the section 12H learnership allowance — currently R40 000 a year for a learner at NQF 1–6, and more for a learner with a disability — claimable on agreements entered into before 1 April 2027.
Figures reflect the Amended Codes of Good Practice as at September 2026.
How much does a programme cost?
Prices are not published, because cost depends on learner numbers, the qualification and how the programme is structured.
Use Request a quote on any programme, and we will come back with pricing for your situation.
Is SolveSA accredited, or are the programmes?
The programmes are. SolveSA is not itself a training provider — we deliver through accredited training providers, and we place each learner with a provider that is accredited for the specific qualification they are enrolling on.
That distinction matters more than it sounds. In South Africa, accreditation is granted for a particular qualification, not to a company in general, and since quality assurance moved to the QCTO, it is the provider delivering that qualification which has to hold it. A blanket claim that a company is “accredited” tells you very little on its own.
Our catalogue is built on registered qualifications — SAQA-registered qualifications and unit standards, QCTO skills programmes, and DHET-registered higher education programmes. Every programme lists its SAQA ID and NQF level, so you can check it yourself against the national register at allqs.saqa.org.za.
When is the WSP and ATR deadline?
30 April each year, under the SETA Grant Regulations. A SETA may extend it by up to a month, and several have in recent years, but extensions are decided SETA by SETA and usually only help employers who had already started. Confirm with your own SETA rather than planning around one.
The deadline matters for more than the mandatory grant. Statement 300 awards no Skills Development points unless your WSP and ATR have been approved by your SETA, so a missed submission can cost you a 20-point priority element, not just a grant.
Do unemployed learners count towards our scorecard?
Yes. Spend on training unemployed black people counts towards the 3.5% skills-spend target, and since the 2019 amendments, employed and unemployed learners are counted together in the single 5% learnership, apprenticeship and internship indicator. Employing them at the end of the programme earns the absorption bonus points.
Is the qualification we want being phased out?
It might be, if it is a legacy qualification registered before 2009. First-time enrolments on those were due to close on 30 June 2024, with learners completing by 30 June 2027. A June 2026 government notice then extended 630 of them by between six and 24 months, trades by up to 12 months and regulatory unit standards by up to 36 months.
There is no single national end date. Each qualification carries its own last date for enrolment and last date for achievement on the SAQA register. Check it before a learner signs, or ask us to check it for you.