When vulnerable children and struggling families need a guiding hand, community caregivers are right there walking alongside them every step of the way. Nearly 1,000 of these dedicated childcare workers have been empowered with formal qualifications to strengthen the vital services they deliver.
Tshwane, South Africa (30 October 2026) – Community caregivers are the very heartbeat of safer communities and stronger households.
Often known as child and youth care workers, they form the backbone of South Africa’s child protection system, walking alongside children and families navigating difficult circumstances – particularly orphaned and vulnerable children, and those holding households together on their own.
Empowering these caregivers does more than protect vulnerable families; it invests in the people who hold communities together by opening doors to career growth and further education.
With this in mind, the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority’s (HWSETA) Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) programme acknowledges their years of hands-on experience supporting vulnerable children and families and strives to back this experience with formal training.
Implemented in partnership with the Department of Social Development, the programme recently equipped 266 community caregivers with formal NQF Level 4 qualifications in Child and Youth Care Work, helping professionalise and strengthen the vital services delivered by non-profit organisations (NPOs).
Following the completion of their studies, the graduation of 266 community caregivers in Tshwane this week brings the total number of Gauteng caregivers who have recently gained formal qualifications through the RPL programme to 963.
Tuesday’s graduates work for various NPOs across the Tshwane region that receive funding from HWSETA. Baakedi Motubatse, HWSETA’s Executive Manager for Education, Training and Quality Assurance, explains that the organisation funds NPOs addressing critical social challenges including HIV/AIDS, child abuse, gender-based violence and femicide, substance abuse, and poverty.
“Many community caregivers working in these organisations have developed invaluable skills through years of practical experience, often without formal qualifications to recognise their capabilities and the outstanding work that they do,” Motubatse notes, adding that seeing 963 candidates graduate from more than 240 NPOs across the province marks a deeply proud milestone for HWSETA.
“It validates that more can be done to enable previously disadvantaged communities to access formal education and training that can lead to improved employment opportunities and poverty alleviation. The graduation also reflects the determination, resilience and hope of the individuals who’ve worked hard to improve their livelihoods and who have not allowed their circumstances to determine their success,” she concludes.
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Sources: Health and Welfare SETA
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