SAQA Qualification ID 50080:
Further Education and Training Certificate: Project Management NQF Level 04, Minimum Credits 136

A. Key Elements and Outline

Further Education and Training Certificate: Project Management:
SAQA Qualification ID: 50080, NQF level 4:

Name of Programme Further Education and Training Certificate: Project Management
Modules in the Programme Project Management
Purpose of Programme The primary purpose of the qualification is to provide learners with:

  • A foundation of basic project management knowledge and skills which can be used to build further project management related competencies.
  • Competence to be an effective project team member.
  • Competence to provide administrative support to a project manager and team members.
  • Competence to provide assistance to a project manager of medium to large projects

As electives specialisation in:

  • Competence to plan, execute and control small, simple projects.

OR

  • Competence in specialised technical areas to support project management processes.

A simple project/sub-project is seen to be one that involves few resources and has a limited impact on stakeholders and the environment.
This qualification is intended for those with prior work experience or an NQF Level 3 qualification in project management or business administration or equivalent. The learners accessing this qualification will be working in or with project management teams or using a project approach to their business. These projects may be technical projects, business projects, government projects or community development projects and will cut across a range of economic sectors. This qualification is also of value to learners running their own business, as project management is an integral component of any business system.

Qualifying learners working on a project will have the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes to function more effectively and in a professional manner, add value to their job performance and enhance their ability to follow and implement policies and procedures.
On achieving the applied competencies of the Qualification, learners may advance their career opportunities further into project administration, support services or management within an organisation, in all sectors.

The (Further Education and Training Certificate) FETC: Generic Project Management, NQF level 4 Qualification replaces the National Certificate: Generic Project Management. It caters for the current and future needs of those working on projects, in a general skills-set that is not sector-specific. The Project industry is integral in the global business environment and skilled practitioners are required to meet the demands of the industry, providing significant benefits to individuals, global corporations and the country.

Projects are diverse in their nature, so a wide range of competencies is required to manage them and other similar systems and programmes. This qualification aims to provide the foundation or the initial skills required for an individual in an organisation to conduct projects successfully; be an effective project team member; undertake a range of project management administration or support tasks and contribute to the planning and execution of projects or sub-projects. It is designed for people working in a project environment as a team member, project administrator or leader of a small project/sub-project.

The Qualification gives accessibility and flexibility to the unemployed and employed. The level of flexibility reflects the multiple job roles, organisational requirements, and changing technological nature of the industry and also allows the individual to work towards a nationally recognised Qualification.
NQF Level 4
Exit Level Outcomes and Associated Assessment Criteria ELO1. Work with others to undertake or support project management activities:

  • Own and team member interactions and contributions to the project are described with examples.
  • Own workload and time are effectively managed in conjunction with the requirements of others in the project.
  • Successful support that is provided to others for project management activities is described with examples.

ELO2. Assist the project manager and/or project team by contributing and participating in planning, execution and control activities:

  • Contributions are made to the planning, scoping, scheduling, budgeting and risk management of the project in accordance with agreed procedures, tools and techniques.
  • Assistance is provided to the project manager and team in the execution of project management activities in accordance with project requirements and agreed procedures.
  • The control of scope, time, cost, risk and quality is described in accordance with project requirements and agreed procedures.
  • Contributions are made to the ‘close-out’ recommendations and/or lessons learned during the project in accordance with experiences and agreed procedures.

ELO3. Provide support to the administration of a project:

  • Project data is gathered, processed and recorded in accordance with project requirements and procedures.
  • Project meetings and/or workshops are organised in accordance with project requirements.
  • Different methods of communication are used and described with reasons for their use in the project.

ELO4. Supervise a project team of a small project to deliver project objectives:

  • Project management processes and techniques are applied to manage a small project from start to end and to supervise the team working on the project.
  • Progress is reported and status, including problems, communicated to project stakeholders
    [ELO4 was selected as the elective ELO]

ELO 5. Support the project environment and management activities to deliver project objectives:

  • Support is provided to project managers/project teams in developing strategies, tactics, structures, methods and processes for project operations.
  • Project environments are checked for compliance with agreed procedures.
  • Lessons learned are consolidated and used to improve project procedures

ELO 6. Describe and apply specialised technical methods, tools and techniques to a project to deliver project objectives:

  • Processes, methods and techniques for the chosen technical field are described and evaluated within the project context.
  • The appropriate project tools and techniques are applied in accordance with agreed policies and procedures.
Credit Value A minimum of 136 credits are required to complete the Qualification.
In this Qualification 136 credits are allocated as follows:
Fundamental component: 56 Credits

  • Mathematical Literacy at Level 4 to the value of 16 credits.
  • Communication at Level 4 in a First South African Language to the value of 20 credits.
  • Communication in a Second South African Language at Level 3 to the value of 20 credits

Core component: 66 Credits
Elective component: minimum of 14 credits
Critical Cross Field Outcomes The learner will be expected to demonstrate the ability to:
CCFO1: Identify and solve problems, monitoring all problems occurring within a project team and in a business project.
CCFO2: Work effectively with others as a member of a project team.
CCFO3: Organise and manage oneself and one’s activities maintaining fairness and transparency throughout the project process.
CCFO4: Collect and organise information pertaining to the monitoring, identifying and rectifying of the project.
CCFO5: Communicate effectively using visual, mathematics and language skills in the modes of oral and/or written presentations during the project.
CCFO6: Use science and technology in the gathering of information and for reporting progress.
CCFO7: Demonstrate the world as a set of related systems understanding the effect that contributions have on the final results of a project.
CCFO8: Demonstrate the world as a set of related systems where the provision of assistance in meeting quality requirements impacts on the overall success of the project outcomes.
Essential Embedded Knowledge As per the individual unit standard EEKs
Range Statement As per the individual unit standard EEKs
Recognition of Prior Learning Learners may access this Qualification in terms of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), which is subject to quality assurance by the relevant accredited ETQA and is conducted by a registered workplace assessor, subject to the terms of the model decided upon by the relevant ETQA.