1. INFRASTRUCTURE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT GRANT (ISDG)
AMEU EDUCATION & TRAINING COMMITTEE
| 12 NOVEMBER 2014

2. OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION
PART I: ISDG STATUS QUO
PART II: ELECTRICAL GRADUTES and APPRENTICES
PART III: PARTICIPATION ON THE ISDG
PART IV: CHALLENGES AT IMPLEMENTATION LEVEL
PART V: NEW APPLICATIONS

3. BACKGROUND
ISDG was introduced in 2011/12 financial year with an objective to increase the pool of built environment professionals within Local Government (i.e. engineering, town planning, architecture, quantity survey and geographic information systems);
The programme was communicated to municipalities and water boards. Interested municipalities were invited to submit 3 year business plans to the National Treasury;
The critical factor in the business plans was for the hosts (municipalities and public entities) to demonstrate ability and capacity to implement the programme as per conditions of the ISDG framework; and
It is a schedule 5B in terms of the DoRA and funds are directly transferred to municipalities.

4. PURPOSE OF THE ISDG
To strengthen the capacity of local government to effectively and efficiently deliver quality infrastructure, by increasing the pool of skills available in the local sphere
To create jobs for unemployed graduates in the Built Environment
( e.g. engineering & town planning)

5. GOVERNMENT RESPONSE Three broad policy direction (amongst many) :
National Development Plan
Building a capable state and thus skills for infrastructure delivery and management
Strategic Infrastructure Programmes (SIPs)
relies on the existence of the technical skills
Youth Accord
youth employment and skills development
Address the aging skills gap within the built environment and within municipalities, in particular Engineering.

6. PART i:
ISDG STATUS QUO

7. MUNICIPALITIES IMPLEMENTING THE ISDG & NUMBER OF GRADUATES

8. FUNDING ALLOCATIONS

9. PART II: ELECTRICAL GRADUTES and APPRENTICES

10. NUMBER OF ELECTRICAL GRADUATES and APPRENTICES
A total of 74 Electrical engineering trainees, there has been an increase compared to 38 trainees that were reported in February 2014.
2 Engineers (ECSA)
4 Technologists (ECSA)
31 Technicians (ECSA)
37 Apprentices (SETA)

11. TRAINING PER MUNICIPALITY

12. Participation on the ISDG 14
PART iii:
Participation on the ISDG 14

13. ISDG PARTICIPATION PROCESS
Interested Municipalities must submit a 3 year business plan to the National Treasury by no later than 28 August of every year (as contained in the DoRA);
National Treasury asses the Business Plan;
Municipalities are notified of the evaluation outcome in writing; and
Funds allocated to municipalities is gazatted.
SELECTION CRITERIA
1. Capacity to implement the ISDG Programme:
A Municipality must have engineer(s) and/or technician(s) with the capacity to supervise graduates and assign tasks
Human Resources: structure associated with the management of the ISDG

14. ISDG SELECTION CRITERIA (the business plan)
2. Budgeting (3 year indicative budget):
Registration Costs
Cost of Business Tools and Equipment
Training Courses
Remuneration costs
Quality assurance
3. Understanding of the road- to- registration:
Municipality to demonstrate an understanding of the road-to-registration process and candidate training
4. Implementation of the ISDG Programme
Road-to-registration
Statutory bodies/councils
Mentors and Supervisors
ISDG Champion / Coordinator

15. ISDG IMPLEMENTATION
Municipalities must recruit unemployed graduates in possession of University Degree or National Diploma within the built environment;
Municipalities are to register graduates as candidates for professional registration with statutory councils;
Graduates are expected to be trained according to structured training plans as per the requirements of the statutory councils; and
Training of graduates takes place in municipalities.
Graduates must be assigned to:
supervisors who are responsible managing graduates on daily activities; and
mentors for mentoring and coaching as well as signing of log books as required by the statutory councils.

16. CHALLENGES AT IMPLEMENTATION LEVEL 14
PART iV:
CHALLENGES AT IMPLEMENTATION LEVEL 14

17. CHALLENGES AT IMPLEMENTATION LEVEL
Delays in registering graduates as candidates in some municipalities;
Training plans not fully in place in some municipalities;
No adequate technical works in some municipalities for graduate exposure;
Some municipalities are struggling to find mentors for graduates (George, Distobotla, Westonaria);
The majority of roll over not approved because the ISDG is an operational grant and the fact that municipalities did not submit all the supporting documents. The only ones approved are Nelson Mandela, City of Cape Town and George; and
Training duration requires to be extended to more than 3 years, the main challenge is that some municipalities are unable to submit a clear recovery plan on how to make up for the lost time.

18. PART V:
NEW APPLICATIONS 14

19. NEW APPLICATINS FOR 2015/16
Municipalities below submitted business plans, below is the number of electrical engineering graduates indicated on their business plans. (These are not yet approved)
Newcastle Municipality- 9 graduates
Elundini – 1 graduate
Ehlanzeni- 1graduate
Engcobo- 1 graduates
Other municipalities that demonstrated interest but did not submit business plans are Mangaung and Vhembe.

20. THANK YOU