Let us be honest: the transition to the QCTO system is making a lot of people in the skills sector nervous.

• For many organisations, it is uncertain.
• For training providers, it is disruptive.
• For employers, it raises real questions about cost, timelines, and practical implementation.

And if we are being honest, the last few years have not always felt smooth.

The tension around the transition has not only played out in boardrooms and industry forums. In some sectors, it has reached the courts. Training organisations and professional associations have taken legal action against sector authorities where legacy qualifications expired before replacement occupational qualifications were available, highlighting the practical risks of transitional gaps.

Entire business models built around legacy programmes have had to rethink their future almost overnight.

So, no - we are not going to pretend everything has been simple or seamless. But we also cannot ignore the reality of where we are now.

The reality: the legacy system is ending

Regardless of how organisations feel about the transition, one fact is now clear: Legacy qualifications are reaching their end.

Even if further extensions were granted - which currently appears unlikely - those extensions would only apply to qualifications that have not yet been replaced by occupational qualifications.

For many programmes, the replacement has already happened. Which means the conversation can no longer be about whether the transition will occur. The conversation now must be about how organisations navigate it responsibly.

Why the QCTO system exists

The QCTO model was introduced to address a long-standing criticism of the South African training system: the gap between learning and real workplace competence.

Under the occupational qualification framework:

The intention is clear. Qualifications should demonstrate actual occupational competence, not simply classroom attendance. In principle, that is a positive shift.

But like any systemic reform, the implementation raises real questions.

Some of the difficult questions we should be asking

One issue that continues to surface in industry discussions is the nature of the EISA assessment model, particularly for lower NQF levels.

Many occupational qualifications - including those aimed at entry-level or semi-skilled roles - still rely on formal theoretical examinations as part of the final assessment. No matter how well the learner does in the year to 5 years it takes to complete the qualification, it means little when all that matters is that final "exam" (QCTO will not call it an exam, preferring final assessment, but often use the term exam in communications).

This is not a criticism of the QCTO model itself, but rather a reminder that assessment design matters, especially when the goal is genuine workplace competence.

These are conversations the sector will likely continue to have as the system matures.

Change at this scale is never tidy

Large regulatory transitions rarely unfold in perfectly linear ways. They involve:

The QCTO transition is no different. Even though this has been a 10-year change in the making (our democracy is over 25 years old and still evolving) and we are still left with more questions than answers.

There will be frustrations along the way. There will be policies that evolve. There will be providers, employers, and regulators learning together as the system stabilises.

What matters now is not whether the transition is perfect - it is how organisations position themselves within it.

The organisations that will succeed in this environment

In our experience working with employers, SDPs, and industry stakeholders, the organisations navigating this transition most successfully tend to do three things well:

Lifting the veil on occupational training

This is exactly why we created our new free course: Occupational Training in Practice: A Business Guide to the QCTO Era. The goal of the course is not to present a polished narrative that everything is perfect. Instead, it aims to do something more useful.

It explains:

why the system is changing

how occupational qualifications actually work

what employers and training providers need to understand

and how organisations can prepare for what comes next

In other words, it tries to lift the veil on a system that many organisations are still trying to decode.

The next phase of South Africa's skills system

The shift to the QCTO model represents one of the most significant changes to the country's skills development landscape in decades.

Whether organisations feel excited, cautious, or sceptical about the transition, one thing is clear: The future of occupational training in South Africa will be shaped within this framework. The most productive step forward now is not denial, frustration, or nostalgia for the old system. It is understanding the new one.

And that understanding starts with informed conversation.

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