MERSETA

The Manufacturing, Engineering, and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority (merSETA) is one of 21 Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) established under the Skills Development Act of 1998, with amendments. Each SETA represents different sectors of the South African economy, with merSETA focusing on manufacturing, engineering, and related services.

MerSETA is organized into five chambers covering various industries: metal and engineering, auto-manufacturing, motor retail and component manufacturing, tyre manufacturing, and plastics industries. These five subsectors include around 44,000 companies employing approximately 600,000 people, with a total levy income of about R600 million.

Like all SETAs, merSETA plays a crucial role in implementing the National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS). While merSETA does not collect levies directly, it receives them from the Department of Higher Education and Training. Seventy percent of these levies are distributed as grants, while 10% is allocated for administrative purposes. MerSETA itself does not provide training; instead, it supports training initiatives by disbursing grants, registering moderators and assessors, identifying scarce skills, accrediting training providers, monitoring training quality, and executing projects to address skills gaps.