The perceived value of the return on investment of accounting learnerships for employers

Abstract

Learnerships were introduced by the South African government as a mechanism to address the shortage of skilled people in the workplace. The aim of this research was to determine the perceived value of the return on investment (ROI) of the Chartered Accountant (CA) learnership – specifically from the employers’ point of view. Despite there being 934 learnerships registered in South Africa, there has been minimal ROI that relates directly to learnerships. The research was conducted in three phases. During the first phase, a focus group was convened to identify the components of the financial and non-financial benefits and costs of the CA learnership. These components were included in a survey questionnaire that was completed by 127 respondents during the second phase. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight employers in the third phase to determine the monetary value of the costs incurred in the implementation of the CA learnership. The key findings of the research include the identification of the specific components of the ROI of the CA learnerships, i.e. the financial and non-financial benefits and costs. From a holistic viewpoint, employers perceive the value of the ROI of the CA learnership.