As South Africa accelerates its move towards the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO), experts are warning that many businesses risk missing the true purpose of the transition by treating training as little more than a compliance exercise.
While the regulatory shift aims to improve the quality and workplace relevance of skills development, some organisations continue relying on outdated “tick-box” approaches focused more on paperwork than practical capability.
According to Nadia Leita, Director at Leverage Leadership, the transition offers companies an opportunity to completely rethink how training is designed, delivered and experienced.
“There is a real dissonance in the market. On one hand, we have a more robust, outcomes-based system in the QCTO. On the other, many organisations are still approaching training purely from a compliance perspective,” says Leita.
QCTO shifts focus towards practical workplace skills
Unlike older training models that often prioritised theoretical completion, the QCTO framework places far greater emphasis on occupational competence and real-world workplace application.
Learners are now required to demonstrate practical skills and applied knowledge within actual working environments.
Leita says compliance itself is not the problem, but it should not become the sole objective.
“Compliance should be the baseline, not the goal. The real value lies in how training is adapted to the business, the role and, most importantly, the individual,” she explains.
Generic training models no longer work
South Africa’s workforce remains highly diverse, shaped by different socio-economic realities, cultures and workplace challenges.
According to Leita, generic training programmes are increasingly disconnected from what employees and businesses genuinely need.
“We cannot continue with cookie-cutter approaches to learning in a country as diverse as ours. Training needs to reflect the environments people work in, the challenges they face and the strengths they bring,” she says.
Under the QCTO structure, qualifications now combine:
- Theoretical knowledge
- Practical skills
- Workplace experience
This creates opportunities for more engaging and immersive learning experiences if organisations are willing to move beyond traditional compliance-driven thinking.
Businesses urged to rethink training strategy
Leita warns that one of the biggest risks is businesses simply repackaging old training methods under the new QCTO framework without fundamentally improving the learner experience.
“If businesses simply repackage compliance training under QCTO without rethinking the experience, we will not see the change the system is designed to deliver,” she says.
Instead, she believes companies should view employee development as a strategic investment tied directly to business performance, long-term capability and workforce resilience.
“Training should be an enjoyable journey. When people are engaged, when they see the relevance to their roles and their growth, the impact is exponentially greater,” says Leita.
2026 transition deadline approaching
With South Africa’s QCTO transition deadline drawing closer, organisations are under growing pressure to modernise their skills development strategies.
Experts say the businesses most likely to benefit will be those that embrace more intentional, human-centred approaches to learning rather than focusing purely on compliance requirements.
“This is a moment for businesses to be more deliberate about how they develop their people. If we get it right, we don’t just build skills, we build capability, confidence and long-term resilience in our workforce,” Leita concludes.
This article first appeared on https://sabusinessintegrator.co.za/
