In this episode, we hear about what TASEZ does to drive investment, support enterprise development, and create jobs within the automotive value chain, and how its partnership with Services SETA expands access to skills programmes for young people.

From environmental practice to digital skills and workplace exposure, the programme equips young people with diverse, practical experience that extends beyond a single sector.

In the second segment, learners share their personal journeys, proud milestones, and how experience has reshaped their career ambitions.

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The conversation opens with Mr. Tsheola Matsebe, Chief Financial Officer of Services SETA, who provides insight into how public funds are managed to uphold compliance, transparency, and accountability. He breaks down financial governance processes, highlights common causes of invoice delays, emphasises the importance of proper planning and documentation, and explains how the Invoice Management System enables efficient and timely payments.

The episode also features Alfonz Fernandez, a Services SETA bursary beneficiary and postgraduate law student, who shares her journey from discovering the bursary opportunity to completing her studies without financial strain. She reflects on how access to funding reshaped her academic path, opened doors beyond the classroom, and empowered her to give back through youth development and mentorship.

Together, these conversations demonstrate how shared responsibility and effective funding unlock skills, build confidence, and shape South Africa’s future.

The episode then moves beyond frameworks into the real, on-the-ground experience of training, through insights from Lindiwe Nkosi of TL Consulting, a Services SETA partner delivering learnerships and skills development programmes. The conversation highlights learner experiences, support mechanisms, challenges, and how training translates into meaningful career opportunities.

The episode concludes with a personal reflection from Cikizwa Mtwayi, a programme beneficiary, who shares her lived experience and the impact the training has had on her career journey.

The AGM convened stakeholders from various industries, including auctioneering, image consulting, beauty, public relations, and funeral services, among others. These engagements highlighted the breadth of the sector and reinforced shared priorities around transformation, skills development,t and sustainable growth.

We also hear leadership reflections from Mr. Masoga, Administrator, and Mr. Dhladhla, Acting CEO, as they unpack key milestones, strategic focus areas, and the collective responsibility for advancing the services sector.

This episode offers an opportunity to pause, reflect, and reconnect with the commitments and conversations that continue to shape our work going forward.

Nomfezeko Vendle, Senior Manager: Chambers and Qualifications Management at Services SETA, takes us behind the scenes of how skills needs are identified, occupational qualifications are developed and reviewed, and how industry input drives funding priorities and provider accreditation. She also highlights how chambers actively engage small businesses, youth, people living with disabilities, and less active industries to ensure inclusive skills development.

We then focus on the personal care and beauty sector, where Dr Thembani Mentor, Ethics Director at SAAHSP, discusses professional standards, ethical practice, and consumer safety. She unpacks the risks of unregulated treatments and explains how formal qualifications and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) are helping practitioners transition from informal work into recognised, safe, and sustainable careers, including a successful Services SETA–SAAHSP RPL initiative that empowered young women across five provinces.

We are joined by Mr. Tebello Mokoena, Senior Manager: Core Business at Services SETA, who provides insight into the accreditation and certification landscape, including external moderation and workplace approvals. The conversation explores what artisanal pathways and apprenticeships involve, how skills are acquired, where to start, who these pathways are designed for, and their accessibility across age groups, helping learners, employers, and training providers understand what to expect and how to engage effectively.

We are joined by Shireen Raju, Manager Learning Programme Implementation, and Suzan Kgobe, Gauteng Provincial Manager, who guide us through the full journey from understanding the Discretionary Grant Learning Programme, to employer readiness, learner onboarding, stipends, monitoring, compliance, and what happens when projects go off track.

The conversation also explores artisanships and apprenticeships, what they involve, who they are for, where to start, and why trade skills remain one of South Africa’s most reliable pathways to employment.

A clear and practical episode for employers, Skills Development Providers, and aspiring learners.

In the second part of the episode, we cut through the complexity around QCTO accreditation, explaining what the QCTO does, who gets accredited, and why accreditation is critical for learners, employers, and training providers. David Thaga, Director for Accreditation at QCTO, unpacks the accreditation process, key requirements, common challenges, and how accreditation ensures training meets national occupational standards.

This episode provides practical guidance for learners, employers, and training providers.

We then spoke to Colette Atkinson from Adcorp about a powerful project that helped temporary workers access real training, real skills, and real career paths. And Sello Mahlakgane, a programme beneficiary, shares a warm and inspiring journey of how this initiative opened doors and changed her life.