The National Treasury, in collaboration with the Northern Cape Office of the Premier and the Public Service Sector Education and Training Authority (PSETA), is preparing to roll out a learnership programme in public finance management for unemployed youth in the Northern Cape.

The programme is a customised accounting technicians’ qualification developed by the National Treasury in partnership with the Association for Accounting Technicians (AAT) for public sector officials at the transaction level of activities in government departments.

PSETA provided the funding for the programme.

The learnership sought to train 50 unemployed youth in Kimberley and Upington in a certificate in accounting technician, National Qualification Framework 3, and South African Qualifications Authority ID 73710It. Participants would, over 12 months, receive classroom instruction for one week and three weeks of workplace experiential training every month.

The learners would receive a stipend of R2 500 a month for the duration of the programme, after which there were greater opportunities of being deployed in various departments and municipalities in the province.

This was in response to the audit outcomes of the past five years, which indicated that audit qualifications emanated among other things from material misstatements on the province’s yearly financial statements.

A further analysis suggested that inadequate skills, competence and experience of staff involved in the accounting units of departments contributed to and directly impacted on the audit outcome.

While the programme would assist the Northern Cape with overall financial management skills capacity, it would also ensure efficient supply chain management processes.

The outcome would result in officials being able to accurately process documents relating to goods and services. Suppliers would be paid on time, as well as ensuring that the correct service providers were paid, leading to an improvement in both audit outcomes for the province and supply chain management processes.

Applicants had to be younger than 30 years and needed a minimum level 4 for Grade 12 mathematics or accounting.