Can the Skills Development Levy pay for your staff’s AI training?

Yes, it can. If your company pays the Skills Development Levy, TEVETA's employer-based training can fund training for your staff, paid directly to a TEVETA-registered provider, provided you show the skill gap and how the training raises productivity. AI training on staff's real tasks fits that test.

If your company pays the Skills Development Levy, part of that money can come back to you as training. Most employers don't use it, usually because nobody in the company knows how.

This post explains how TEVETA's employer-based training works, based on what TEVETA and the Zambia Qualifications Authority have published, and what it would take to use it for AI training.

What the levy is

The Skills Development Levy was set up under the Skills Development Levy Act No. 46 of 2016. It funds the Skills Development Fund, which TEVETA manages to pay for technical, vocational and entrepreneurship training.

Employer-based training: the part that pays for staff training

Under employer-based training, TEVETA funds training that a company arranges for its own staff. The scale is real: in the second quarter of 2019 alone, TEVETA disbursed K14.4 million to ten companies, covering more than 2,400 employees under 155 training contracts. The companies included ZESCO, Zambia Sugar, Konkola Copper Mines and Nkana Water and Sewerage Company.

The important detail: the funds are paid directly to the training provider, not to the employer.

Who qualifies

According to the published criteria, the employer must:

• be registered under the Companies Act and operate in the formal sector
• contribute to the Skills Development Fund through the levy
• provide a training needs analysis showing the skill gaps
• show how the training will benefit the company and raise productivity

What the proposal needs

The employer chooses a TEVETA-registered training institution and they put together a proposal covering:

1. The training objectives and what will be covered
2. The duration and the expected productivity improvements
3. The company's human resource development plan
4. How many staff will be trained
5. The training provider's credentials and staff qualifications
6. A budget
7. A memorandum of understanding signed by the heads of both institutions

Using it for AI training

Nothing in the published criteria limits the scheme to engineering or trades. Training that measurably raises productivity is the point, and AI training on staff's own weekly tasks is exactly that kind of claim, as long as you can show it.

Two practical steps make a proposal stronger:

• Do the needs analysis properly. A short survey of which tasks eat your staff's week is a training needs analysis. Our free pre-training survey produces exactly this: roles, the tasks that take the most time, and how often they happen.
• Measure before and after. Time one or two tasks before the training and a month after. That is the productivity evidence the proposal asks for.

The provider must be TEVETA-registered. Check the registration of any provider you shortlist, including us, before you build a proposal around them.

If the levy route is too slow

Proposals take time. If you want to start this month, run one small paid session first, measure what changes, and use that result in a levy proposal for the rest of the company. Our introduction costs K3,500 for a team of up to 15.