Every year, skills budgets meet financial year-ends, and every year some training is rushed, delayed or lost. The fix is not working harder in the final month; it is working back from the right date.
Know your year-end
- National and provincial departments work to a financial year of 1 April to 31 March, under the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
- Municipalities and municipal entities work to a financial year of 1 July to 30 June, under the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).
The date that matters is not the last day of the year. It is the last day by which training must be delivered, closed out and invoiced for payment to go through, which in practice is earlier.
Work back from the deadline
- Close-out and invoice. Allow for the provider’s close-out file (ten working days after the last session with TTDC) and your own payment processes.
- Delivery. Book dates around operations. Splitting across shifts or Saturdays helps when teams cannot all be released at once.
- Material sign-off. Allow time for your team to review and approve content built on your own policies.
- Procurement. Follow your SCM policy and delegations. The procurement route, and therefore the lead time, depends on the value and nature of the service.
- Scope and quotation. A clear requirement produces a clear quotation. TTDC returns a written, fixed-price quotation within two working days.
A practical checklist
- Confirm the budget and link the training to your Workplace Skills Plan.
- Define the outcome, the group and the location before approaching providers.
- State your deadline in the request for quotation, so providers can confirm whether they can meet it.
- Ask for accreditation, B-BBEE, tax and CSD documents with the quotation, not after the award.
- Agree the evidence you need at the end: registers, assessment evidence, certificates and a close-out report.
- Schedule close-out and invoicing before your internal payment cut-off.
When time is short
If the year-end is close, tell us the deadline in your enquiry. We will say immediately whether it can be met, rather than accepting work we cannot deliver properly. Request a quote or see how we work with each sector.