Course accreditation criteria to be overhauled

STANDARDS AND procedures for course accreditation in the freight industry will be overhauled in anticipation of the Skills Development Bill being passed into law in parliament this year.
A task team of the METB:F&C will swing into action on April 6 to evaluate concepts and draw up standards by which all METB:F&C accredited courses will be judged.
METB:F&C executive director Charles Dey told FTW that courses which are currently accredited will continue to be recognised as such, although the METB will work with course providers to modify and change their material to suit the new criteria.
And these are understood to be more stringent than before.
"It's a very difficult market in which to teach. In forwarding, mistakes are very expensive and most mistakes occur because people haven't been taught properly.

"By adhering to the guidelines of the new SA Qualifications Authority Act and Skills Development Bill we will ensure that employees in our industry are offered the most professional learning paths possible to become world class."
While the METB:F&C's task team is drawing up the new standards and procedures, all new course accreditation will be on hold. The cut-off date for submission of courses for accreditation this year is April 6.
Courses submitted after that date will not be accredited until the new unit standards have been formulated, course development completed and learnership systems are in place. This is likely to be early next year.
Although this sounds like bad news for course providers, Dey believes that going back to the drawing board of course accreditation will give them the opportunity to become partners with METB:F&C. "Once course outlines have been established providers will be commissioned to produce material based on those outlines."