17 February 2023
An organisation may not claim the salary for an Employee Bursar as part of its Bursary Programme. However, as per 2.1.1.2 of the Skills Development Scorecard, an organisation may claim a Stipend for an unemployed Bursar.
2.1.1.2 refers: “Skills Development Expenditure on bursaries for ‘Black’ Students at Higher Education Institutions”.
Furthermore, clause 5.5 states: “Salaries or wages paid to an employee participating as a learner in any Learning Programme constitute Skills Development Expenditure if the Learning Programme is a Learnership, Internship and Apprenticeship (Category B, C and D) of the Learning Programme Matrix or a stipend linked to a bursary programme in terms of paragraph 2.1.1.2.”
Historically, this principle results in organisations giving preference to unemployed Bursars, where they can claim a higher overall cost.
Members need to consider the return on investment as well as the B-BBEE points when developing their bursary strategy. Additionally, members must ascertain whether bursaries fall into their Employee Value Proposition (EVP) and their Training Plan before being driven blindly by the B-BBEE points in isolation.
Skills Development Services are on hand to guide members in making expenditure claims.