NEW OCCUPATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS PROPOSED

The Quality Control for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) has suggested 13 new occupational qualifications. These are currently available for public comment.

The new suggestions were published by the QCTO CEO Vijayen Naidoo in the Government Gazette on 14 May.

According to the QCTO, an occupational qualification is a qualification associated with a trade, occupation or profession resulting from work-based learning.

Out of the suggested qualifications, there are four electrical engineering qualifications. All four of these are NQF level 6 qualifications. In South Africa, the NQF system is the ranking system for qualifications.

As part of the qualification outline, the proposed qualifications are compared to similar qualifications in countries like Australia and Canada.

Although the entry requirements between countries are usually different with some countries having lower entry requirements, the overall outcomes and goal of the qualifications tend to be similar.

MyBroadband reports that NQF levels 1 to 4 refer to high school grades 9 to 12; 5 to 7 refer to undergraduate qualifications; and 8 to 10 refer to postgraduate degrees.

Those interested in commenting on the proposal have until 21 days from the date of publication to do so.

Image credit: Fife College