Your NQF Level After School: Credit Accumulation Transfer (CAT). CAT allows learners to accumulate credits for completed courses. These credits can be transferred between different institutions or programs. Check if you have credits from high school.
Your NQF Level After Leaving School: CAT
What is The Credit Accumulation Transfer (CAT) system?
CAT allows learners to accumulate credits for completed modules or courses. This includes credits for your highest level of schooling. These credits can be transferred between different institutions or programs. Understanding NQF levels can be so confusing! Here’s help on working out how many credits you currently have if you’ve just left school.
CAT: Credit Accumulation Transfer
The brutal truth is that if you leave school at the end of Grade 9, you only have 1 credit – for Literacy 1. You don’t have to be smart to see that if you’re poor, leaving at the end of Grade 9 will probably ensure that you will remain poor for the rest of your life. Sure, education alone won’t make you rich. But knowledge empowers you for situations you don’t yet understand.
If you don’t want to be educated for work, you must look at earning your own income instead of looking for jobs. Trying to find a job when you have a low level of education means you could be exploited forever. You’re mad to count on a job. Start your own business and be your own boss.
Count your high School Credits Using CAT
Below is a table listing how you can work out your credits:
Which NQF levels to apply for? Learnerships, Apprenticeships And Skills Development
If you completed Grade 10, you only have NQF L2 credits: apply for NQF level 2 and 3 learnerships and apprenticeships.
If you completed Grade 11: apply for NQF Level 3 possibly NQF 4 skills development programmes.
Did you complete Grade 12 with maths and first and second languages? Then apply for NQF Level 4 qualifications that can be obtained through learnerships or apprenticeships. Your credits will advantage you.
If you completed Grade 12 but didn’t have those credits, you will likely be accepted on an NQF Level 3 programme.
Special note ABOUT nqf Levels:
- Many employers and training providers want NQF L4 applicants to have Matric in place. This is because a job-based (occupational) NQL4 qualification can be very demanding if you don’t already have Matric.
- If you qualify for Language and Maths credits, the employer’s training costs and your time commitment can be reduced.
In South Africa, the Credit Accumulation Transfer (CAT) system is used to recognize learners’ achievements in their studies. Under CAT, learners are recognized for successfully completing individual modules or courses that are part of a broader qualification. Each module or course is assigned a credit value based on expected learning outcomes and workload.
When a learner successfully completes a module or course, they earn the allocated credits, which can be accumulated towards a qualification. This means that learners can earn credits for the modules or courses they have completed, even if they have not yet completed the full qualification.
The accumulated credits can also be transferred to another institution or program. This allows learners to continue their studies at a different institution without repeating previously completed modules or courses. This promotes access, flexibility, and mobility in the education and training system. Learners can pursue learning opportunities that suit their needs and circumstances.
Overall, the CAT system recognizes learners’ achievements by acknowledging the specific knowledge, skills, and competencies they have acquired through their studies, regardless of where or how they acquired them.
