Fraud related to usage of Education, Training and Development (ETD) Practitioner credentials

Fraud related to usage of Education, Training and Development (ETD) Practitioner credentials

Dear Valued Stakeholder

Fraud related to usage of Education, Training and Development (ETD) Practitioner credentials

There has been a rising trend of fraud-related incidents in relation to the unlawful and unauthorised use of Education, Training and Development (ETD) Practitioners’ credentials at both the Accreditation Application and Exit Verification stages. As MICT SETA we caution our Skills Development Providers (SDPs) and ETD Practitioners against sharing their credentials with third parties. 

The current practice includes that of ETD Practitioners sharing their credentials and supporting documentation with other practitioners for the purposes of gaining access to opportunities to conduct assessment and moderation. The third party ETD Practitioner then provides SDP’s with access to the ETD Practitioners credentials, without their consent; at a set fee. The third party ETD Practitioner subsequently signs an SLA with the SDP post which they apply for accreditation. It is at this stage of the process i.e. the verification of the ETD Practitioner credentials the MICT SETA ETQA establishes that the ETD Practitioner is unaware of their appointment by the SDP and fraudulently signed agreement.

The second practice which has become prevalent is that of co-appointed ETD Practitioners. This is when ETD Practitioners work together and have an agreement in place which provides consent for the use of their individual credentials and the SETA often has no access to this SLA. The ETD Practitioners then conduct assessment and moderation inter-changeably and sign on each other’s behalf.

Both of the above-mentioned practices are strictly prohibited and are a material breach of the ETD Practitioner Code of Conduct which Practitioners sign upon their registration. Based on this practice,  SDPs are encouraged to remain vigilant and to engage directly with ETD Practitioners when obtaining their consent, approval and permission to use their credentials in the process of accreditation and verification.

Take note that it is an offence in terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (Act No. 4 of 2013) (“POPI”) to use one’s personal information without their consent or not for the purpose it was intended.

Failure to adhere to this Notice may result into any of the risks highlighted below:

1. The impact of both practices affects the quality of learning delivered to learners as SDPs often times do not make use of the same ETD Practitioners to conduct assessments but rather internal, unregistered staff.
2. The assessment process is thus invalid with the risk noted to be the exiting of learners whose competence has not been validated by a registered assessor. The same is true for the moderator.
3. All providers who are currently engaging in this practice will have their accreditation suspended pending a formal investigation with the final recommendation made within 21 days of receipt of the complaint.
4. Third parties are not reliable sources for consent as they have often times have not received consent of the ETD Practitioner in question.

The MICT SETA takes a firm stance against the practice of fraud. Should you suspect any fraud taking place or misuse of credentials in the process of accreditation and verification, you are encouraged to report it to the following structures:

Anti-corruption hotline: 0800 205 149  

Fraud and corruption is everyone’s business, report it, don’t support it!

Regards

MICT SETA