Status of the phasing out of the Chamber of Mines of South Africa Certificates of Competency

Abstract

The Chamber of Mines of South Africa (CoMSA) Certificates of Competency (CoCs) were introduced to standardize stand-alone in-house qualifications for persons working in the South African Mining and Minerals Industries (SAM&MS). When the Higher Education Qualification Framework (HEQF) Act was introduced in 2007, one of the unintended consequences was that it implied that CoMSA could no longer issue its OBET non-compliant CoCs. In response to these developments, the intention was to phase out CoMSA CoCs by establishing a deadline for the last entry for new candidates into the CoMSA CoC system at 31 August 2015, before it was finally recognized that these changes would have a wider impact in the SAM&MS involving mine environmental control (MEC), rock engineering (RE), mine surveying, and other disciplines. Three institutes, namely the Institute of Mine Surveyors of South Africa (IMSSA), the South African National Institute for Rock Engineers (SANIRE), and the Mine Ventilation Society of South Africa (MVSSA) made a combined representation, and it was agreed that the said deadline could be extended to 31 August 2018. This means that the complete suite of 'new' (Outcomes Based Education and Training [OBET])-compliant qualifications must be registered on the appropriate level of the National Qualifications Framework and sub-frameworks by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), and implemented by approved education and training providers and accredited by the respective Quality Councils (QCs). In the case of the South African Mining and Mineral Sector (SAM&MS) the Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA), being the custodian of qualifications for the SAM&MS in terms of Section 41,(3) of the Mine Health and Safety Act 1995 (MHSA), Act 27 of 1995 and Regulations as amended, supported by the relevant professional associations (PAs) will apply to the relevant QC to be appointed as Development Quality Partner (QDP) and/or Quality Assessment Partner (AQP) to develop, implement and quality assure (QA) 'mining-technical related' qualifications. The application process to have an OBET-compliant qualification developed and registered on the NQF is tenuous at best, and it is anticipated that a minimum of two years will be required to achieve this for one level of Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO)-compliant qualifications. The positive spin-off of this crisis is that 'learned societies' and PAs active in the SAM&Ms were drawn into the development and implementation of a range of recognized OBET-compliant occupational qualifications required to develop the knowledge and skills needed in the Industry. This paper outlines the requirements for such qualifications and outlines the progress made towards the development and implementation thereof.