By becoming actively involved in skills development, a company can address three major concerns of every business:

- Improving employee wellness as employees are developed into skilled, qualified individuals.
- Improving productivity as skilled employees tend to complete the correct tasks in the correct way, and on time.
- Improving the bottom line, by being able to claim back, through various FoodBev SETA products, up to 70% of the Skills Development Levy paid to SARS.

The approval of the majority of discretionary grants is subject to the approval of a mandatory grant application.  Discretionary grants are available to fund initiatives aligned with developing scarce skills for the food and beverages manufacturing sector and the country. 

The application process for any discretionary grant can be very broadly illustrated as follows:

Additional Tax Deduction from SARS in respect of Learnerships / Apprenticeships

Section 12H of the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 allows for "additional deductions for employers provided certain requirements are met. These additional deductions are intended as an incentive to train employees in a regulated environment in order to encourage skills development and job creation. Training contracts that qualify for these deductions are learnerships registered with a SETA or contracts of apprenticeship registered with the Department of Labour. These additional deductions consist of an annual allowance and a completion allowance."

Please see an explanatory note from the South African Revenue Service under 'Download Documents' above.

Page Created: Tuesday, March 16, 2010