Why dismantling Setas is not an option

The debate around the Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas) has resurfaced with familiar intensity. There are persistent calls to abolish the Setas and redirect levy resources entirely back to the private sector. It is a tidy, populist message.

However, in a nation still undoing structural inequality, simplicity is not a substitute for seriousness. It is a pillar of our democratic project, designed to reverse a labour market architecture engineered to exclude the majority of our people. The legislation governing these authorities was enacted to give practical expression to the constitutional right to education, training and economic participation.

To suggest that we should abandon this architecture is to argue that the work of redressing historical inequality is finished. It is not. It provides a vital lifeline for thousands of young people who would otherwise be locked out of the economy. From TVET colleges to artisan development, the Seta landscape remains a critical engine for the skills revolution — a necessary transition to reposition our post-school education system towards developmental outcomes.