Compiled by Mark Jansen Van Vuren
After many years as a trade test and skills development provider, I have come to a difficult but unavoidable conclusion: the Department of Higher Education and Training and its related structures are out of touch with what industry needs.
Supplied by Mark Van Vuren
On the ground, trade test centres are sent from pillar to post. We are delayed by semantics. We are delayed by shifting requirements. And far too often, we are delayed for no reason other than administrative incompetence.
Centres are expected to meet strict timelines, submit documentation on time, and comply with detailed procedures. We are audited and held accountable. But the same standard is not applied to the bodies that control the process. And that is where the real problem starts.
On set of rules for centres, another for everyone else
For years, many centres have struggled with Assessment Quality Partners (AQPs) who do not adhere to their own timelines. Processes are unclear. Requirements change. Communication is poor. Yet centres are still expected to deliver perfectly and on time.
This is not just frustrating – it is damaging.
Every delay in approval, verification or authorisation means a delayed trade test. A delayed trade test means a delayed qualification. And a delayed qualification means fewer skilled people entering an industry that already has serious skills shortages.
We are not talking about paperwork for the sake of paperwork. We are talking about real people, real careers and real businesses being held back by a system that does not function as it should.
When the system forces you to escalate
In my own case, these issues reached a point where formal action became unavoidable. I went so far as to organise a peaceful protest, which was stopped shortly before it was due to take place, and instead I was granted a meeting with the organisation’s CEO to discuss the challenges we face.
I was assured that action would be taken. That engagement was welcome. But the reality remains: unless trade test centres stand together and keep raising these issues, we will continue to be ignored and quietly pushed aside.
This is not a problem limited to one centre or one AQP. It is systemic.
Meetings without answers
Recent engagements, which were meant to bring clarity, left many centres with more questions than answers. Questions about documentation, processes and timelines were not answered properly. Some were not answered at all. Even questions raised in the first session were still unresolved in the follow-up meeting.
A few centres may be fully up to date – but they are the exception, not the rule. Many centres across the country are struggling with the same issues, especially as we move into the Occupational Trade Test environment.
A process that should be simple
In theory, the trade testing process should run like clockwork: LEISA. EISA. Verification. Approval. Serial number. Trade test date. Certification.
This is not an unreasonable expectation. This is not asking for special treatment. This is simply asking that the system work as it is supposed to work.
Instead, we face constant delays, shifting interpretations and administrative bottlenecks. Even when centres comply fully and submit everything on time, trade tests are still held up by internal processes that no one seems able – or willing – to fix.
Too often, ‘semantics’ between departments become an excuse for delay. Too often, ‘capacity constraints’ are used to justify backlogs. Too often, new requirements appear without proper consultation or transition.
The law must apply to everyone
Let’s be clear: administrative dysfunction is not a valid reason to undermine a legal and regulatory process.
We have regulations. We have frameworks. This is the law. And that law must apply not only to centres and providers, but also to AQPs, QCTO and every other structure in the system.
Accountability cannot be one-sided.
A recent High Court judgment relating to firearm licensing makes an important point that applies directly to our situation. The court found that when authorities shift requirements, invent criteria, create endless delays and make decisions without procedural fairness, this is not lawful administration. It is institutional failure. And ‘capacity constraints’ are not a legal excuse.
The same principle applies to trade testing. When systems are plagued by moving goalposts, missed timelines, unclear requirements and inconsistent decisions, the result is not regulation – it is obstruction.
And obstruction has real consequences for skills development, for businesses, and for the credibility of the entire system.
A call for industry unity
This is not an attack on individuals. There are capable and committed people within these institutions. But the system itself is not working as it should – and pretending otherwise helps no one.
What we need is simple:
- Clear, consistent processes
- Enforceable timelines for everyone, not just centres
- Real accountability across the entire chain, and
- Honest engagement with industry
Most importantly, we need trade test centres to speak with one voice. If we remain divided and silent, nothing will change. If we stand together and insist on a system that is lawful, functional and fair, then real reform becomes possible.
Trade testing is the backbone of skills development. When that backbone is weakened by administrative failure, the entire industry feels it.
The brief
Before the project, the estate already had multiple boreholes on site being used primarily for irrigation, but the property was still heavily reliant on municipal water for its operational and potable water needs. The estate also had an existing water treatment plant on site. However, this system had not operated correctly for several years and was no longer fit for purpose.
After assessment, it became clear that refurbishing or repairing the existing plant would not deliver a reliable or compliant outcome. Ground 2 Tap’s recommendation was therefore to mothball the existing system entirely and design a new, purpose-built treatment solution aligned with the estate’s long-term operational needs.
And that is something we can no longer afford to ignore.
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