BankSETA provides R21 million for developing chartered accountants

The Banking Sector Education and Training Authority (BANKSETA) has made huge contributions to the transformation of the accountancy profession in South Africa – especially with their recent award of R21 million to the University of the Western Cape (UWC) towards programmes that will grow the number of black chartered accountants (CAs) in the country. The money will be used to help 260 African and Coloured CAs pursue their studies at UWC over two years.

BANKSETA is dedicated to the development of skills in the banking and micro-finance sector. UWC is ideally placed to run the programme, given its large enrolment of Coloured students and its status as a historically disadvantaged institution. Also joining the two institutions in the partnership is the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), one of the world's leading accounting institutes, itself committed to the transformation of the CA profession. The funding forms part of SAICA's Thuthuka Education Upliftment Project – a pioneering initiative to promote transformation in the profession and provide educational support for learners.

BANKSETA CEO Max Makhubalo says the partnership supports one of the core objectives of SETA – to support and encourage transformation through partnerships. “This is one partnership where we believe that we will be advantageously placed in encouraging transformation. UWC has a wonderful team looking after this project, and the management of it has been very impressive – not to mention the students as well.”

Lwando Bantom, Project Director of Transformation at SAICA, explained that one of the terms of the agreement with BANKSETA is the implementation of a workplace readiness programme for the students chosen to be on the programme. “The workplace readiness programme is aimed at equipping the students at an early stage in their budding careers with the necessary skills to be effective and change-making leaders. This is just one of the things that will set these students apart from the rest.”

Professor Kobus Visser, Dean of UWC's Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, says the faculty is very excited to have BANKSETA on board with the UWC Pilot Thuthuka programme. “This programme has enabled us to reach a broader number of students who would otherwise not have had the means to fund themselves in their pursuit of becoming CAs. BANKSETA is helping us make these students' dreams come true.”