First occupational skills programme approved as development of two more gets under way.

The Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI) has welcomed an important milestone in the development of South Africa’s nationally recognised electro-mobility skills pathway, following Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) approvalof the Electro Mobility Service Assistant Occupational Skills Programme.

The NQF Level 2, 57-credit programme provides a foundational entry point for safe participation in an electro-mobility environment, including high-voltage awareness, safe working practices and the appropriate use of tools, diagnostic equipmentand workshop machinery.

While the programme has been approved, approval of the Final Integrated Supervised Assessment (FISA) standards by the QCTO Assessment Domain is still awaited. Publication on the QCTO website will follow once the required assessment standardsand other outstanding components are in place.

Importantly, development of the pathway is already continuing. On 1 September 2026, merSETA commenced the scoping and profiling process for two further electro-mobility occupational skills programmes:

• Electro Mobility Hybrid Vehicle Technician
• Electrically Propelled Vehicle/Battery Electric Vehicle Technician

The latest development session attracted 45 participants, including 17 from the RMI contingent – representing RMI staff, employer members, elected office bearers and other industry representatives.

“The continued level of participation is encouraging. I am particularly proud of the 17 members of the RMI contingent who again made their time and industry expertise available,” says Louis van Huyssteen, RMI National Director: Training.“It demonstrates that our members and representatives are not simply calling for new skills solutions; they are prepared to participate actively in developing them and to see the process through.”

The skills-development work comes as South Africa’s passenger-vehicle sales mix begins to change. Lightstone Auto data comparing January to June 2024 with the same period in 2026 shows recorded new-energy vehicle sales increasing from 5,953to 9,703 units – approximately 63%. Battery-electric passenger vehicle sales increased from 604 to 1,374, while plug-in hybrid sales increased from 237 to 3,164.

“NEVs do not yet dominate the South African vehicle parc, and it would be wrong to suggest that they do. The important signal is the acceleration and changing mix of drivetrains entering the market,” says van Huyssteen. “Petrol and dieselvehicles will remain with us for many years, while hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery-electric vehicles increasingly join them.”

With the average passenger vehicle age approaching 11 years, vehicles remain in use for long periods and move through different ownership, servicing and repair environments. This means that vehicles entering the market today will increasinglybe encountered by the independent aftermarket over their working lives.

The RMI says the skills requirement extends well beyond motor mechanics and high-voltage specialists. Motor body repairers, auto electricians, tyre and fitment businesses, recovery operators, diagnostic and parts businesses may all increasinglyencounter electrified vehicles. Existing qualified artisans should also have opportunities to build additional competence as technology changes and employers develop new capabilities.

The need also extends to customer-facing employees such as vehicle salespeople, service advisers and parts sales staff, who need appropriate product awareness, terminology and safety understanding to communicate accurately with motorists.

“A customer’s experience of new technology does not begin only when a technician opens the bonnet,” says Ipeleng Mabusela, RMI CEO. “It also involves the salesperson explaining the vehicle, the service adviser discussing maintenance orrepair, and the parts employee identifying the correct component.”

The RMI believes nationally recognised occupational training and OEM or product-specific training should be viewed as complementary rather than competing approaches. OEM training provides brand- and model-specific knowledge and keeps employeescurrent, while nationally recognised occupational training provides defined, quality-assured and formally assessed competence that is nationally recognised and portable.

“The automotive industry needs both,” says van Huyssteen. “OEM training remains critical for particular brands, models, systems, software and manufacturer procedures. Nationally recognised occupational training builds recognised and portablecompetence.”

The RMI has thanked merSETA, in its role as the QCTO’s Quality Partner for Development, for driving the development process, and Faldilah Garrett for facilitating the process with the participating Community of Expert Practitioners.

“The automotive industry is changing, and the automotive retail aftermarket must be part of that transition,” says Mabusela. “Our responsibility is to ensure that businesses and the people working in them are able to participate safely,productively and competitively as new technologies enter the South African vehicle parc.”

The RMI says it intends to remain an active partner in building a nationally recognised skills system that supports employees, employers and ultimately the motorist.

“Not everybody needs to become a high-voltage specialist, but everybody who encounters these vehicles needs the appropriate level of awareness, safety knowledge and competence for the work they perform. From there, there must be crediblepathways for those who need or choose to go further,” concludes van Huyssteen.