Discretionary Grants

Access to Discretionary Grant Funding

Discretionary grants are awarded through Expression of Interests (EOI) process where HWSETA advertise funding annually on the HWSETA website to HWSETA registered Employers. The awarding SETA uses its discretion to award the funds to the proposals that best meet its goals and objectives. The discretionary grant is a grant that’s paid out at the discretion of the SETA. Discretionary grant is a contractual obligation that exists at the end of the financial year that will oblige the SETA to make a payment or agreement (written) with specific terms between a SETA and a third party whereby the third party undertakes to perform something in relation to a discretionary project for which a SETA will be obliged to make a payment against a discretionary grant.

Step 1

Register Organisation with South African Revenue Services

Step 2

Skills Development Levy (SDL) Number Issued

Step 3

Pay 1% of total remuneration paid to employees to SARS

Step 4

Submission to WSP by the 30th April

Step 5

Approval of WSP by HWSETA

Step 6

Payment of quarterly discretionary grant as per the SETA Grant Regulations and The Skills Development Levies Act.

Expressions of Interest (EOIs) are used to advertise discretionary grant funding projects and opportunities. The aim of EOIs are to invite all stakeholders to express interest and avail their workplaces for the purposes of Skills Development. All EOIs are advertised on the HWSETA’s website as well as in National and Regional newspapers.

The following will be contained in the EOI:

Who can participate
Requirements that need to be met to be considered
What training programme to be funded
Type of learners/beneficiaries to be funded in the project
Required role players on the projects
National number of beneficiaries
The cost for each line items to be funded
Time frames
Documents to be submitted with EOI

Types of Discretionary Grants:

Learnerships
Skills Programmes
Bursaries
Work experience grants
Pre-apprenticeship grants
Early Childhood development
SDF training
Ad Hoc Projects
Levy exempt
SME funding

How is Discretionary Grant Funding Generated?

Employers that are required to pay skills development levies pay a total of 1% of their total payroll to SARS.
This money is used as follows:

20% is paid to National Skills Fund:

To fund projects identified in the National Skills Development Strategy as national priorities;
To fund projects related to the achievement of the purpose of the ACT as the Director-General of the Department of Higher Education and Training determines;
To administer the fund within the prescribed limit as regulated from time to time.

80% is paid to the relevant SETA and divided as follows:

49.5 is for Discretionary Grant Funding;
20% is for Mandatory Grant Funding;
10% is for administration;
0.5% QCTO;
Any unclaimed mandatory grant funding will be transferred to discretionary grant funding by 15 August each year.