Dr R Patel: Chief Executive Officer led the presentation which highlighted the following key issues: . All targets had been achieved and exceeded with the exception of one (employed bursaries entered). . Artisan Training Programme had placed MERSETA at the forefront of SETAs that were responsive to the most urgent strategic priorities. . Challenges of MERSETA included; aligning industry needs with national development imperatives, financial and budgetary constraints, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of skills development and improving employer buy-in on challenges facing the sector. . In terms of administration, MERSETA had sound financial accountability in line with King III report. Monitoring and evaluation of projects was conducted. . All the services of the MERSETA were performed in-house except the internal audit which was outsourced owing to lack of internal capacity within MERSETA. . With regard to skills planning, an internal research inventory hub was established to conduct research on skills requirement of the sector. Collaborations with other SETAs on skills planning and development were established. . In terms of partnering with FET colleges, MERSETA provided work placement for FET graduates and training programmes for lecturer training and development. Companies were incentivised to take on graduates for work experience. . To improve career guidance, the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programme was aligned to career development. Partnerships with schools and higher education institutions were also in place. 50 students at UJ in the Psychology Department were trained to be career guidance practitioners at FET Colleges. MERSETA had a career bus with eight computers that travelled throughout the country. A learner tracer study was conducted annually. . In terms of workplace skills development, grants allocation was aligned to equity targets and workplace productivity. . In supporting Cooperatives and Small Medium Enterprises, an SME skills audit was conducted and technology based entrepreneurship support was provided. . MERSETA had seven regional offices nationally and skills development programmes in all provinces which included higher education institutions, industry, unions and FET colleges. . MERSETA was putting a research paper in place on a comprehensive strategy for artisan development. It also identified 15 lecturers to get trained on pedagogy for artisan development through partnership with British Council. . The entity had seven (7) offices in 9 provinces, Mpumalanga office served Limpopo while the office in Bloemfontein also served Northern Cape. . MERSETA had international partnerships with companies and institutions in Britain, Germany and Netherlands on artisan development. It also had national partnerships with other entities like Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) which allocated R168 million to address budget shortfall for skills development. . Budget: The total budget for 2013/14 was R1.1 billion, total commitments R914 million, current liabilities R203 million and available reserves R17 million.