Download the List of Qualifications and Unit Standards Extended Past 30 June 2026

SAQA has now released the list of qualifications approved for extension beyond the 30 June 2026 deadline. Minister Buti Manamela confirmed that extensions would not be blanket extensions, but rather targeted extensions based on sector readiness, learner impact, replacement qualification availability, and labour market requirements.

The published list contains the qualifications and unit standards that have been approved for extension, together with the duration of each extension. Some qualifications and unit standards received extensions of six months, while others received extensions of up to 36 months

Training providers are encouraged to review the list carefully and determine whether any of the qualifications and unit standards relevant to their operations have received additional enrolment periods.

As always, I recommend that training providers treat these extensions as transitional breathing room rather than a long-term strategy. Where suitable QCTO skills programmes or occupational qualifications exist, movement toward the newer system remains advisable.

Download the complete list below.

What is Meant by “Extension”?

The effective expiry date for a programme is the date on which new learners may no longer be enrolled. This is called the last date for enrolment.

If you look at a qualification or unit standard, several dates are normally given. Once a learner has been enrolled, training and assessment may continue until the last date for achievement.

These two dates are years apart. The purpose of this gap is to allow providers to train out learners who were already enrolled before the programme stopped accepting new enrolments.

For short courses and individual unit standards, however, where the training duration may only be a few days or weeks, this lengthy teach-out period is often of limited practical importance.

In effect, what has been extended is the date up to which new learners may be enrolled. The date of 30 June 2026, which appears on many unit standards as the last date for enrolment, is the date that has now been extended.

Does this mean if you are competent in a course that is now expiring, that you are no longer qualified? Absolutely not, as explained here, the learner’s certificate never expires. More here. 

Unit Standard Extensions: Encouraging News, But Questions Remain

One observation that appears to be changing is that unit standards have, in fact, received far more attention during this transition round than many expected. A substantial list of unit standards has now been granted extensions of up to 36 months, which is encouraging news for industries that still depend on them.

However, the real test will be execution. Will SAQA update its website to reflect the new dates? Will the various SETAs update their systems to accept learner enrolments (often enrolments are stuck on the SETA system until SAQA updates the dates on their end)?

Will SETAs once again accept accreditation applications for these unit standards? Will all SETAs restart those processes, or only some of them?

The extension list appears to recognise fewer SETAs per unit standard than was historically the case. This could create difficulties for SDPs, who may find themselves needing to interact with multiple SETAs for programmes that were previously managed under a single quality assurance relationship.

Time will tell.

For this reason, I still view these extensions as breathing room rather than a permanent solution. My recommendation remains unchanged: maintain existing SETA accreditation where possible, move toward QCTO replacement programmes where they exist, and actively push for the development of new QCTO skills programmes where they do not.

I discuss this approach further in my article, “Unit Standard Expiry 2026: My Advice to Training Providers Remains the Same.”

Download link for all extended programs here:

This list was last updated 19 June 2026 11am to add the unit standards list. Refresh page and download again if you do not see the unit standards.

List of Unit Standards and Qualifications Extended Past 30 June 2026 with notices, as at 20 June (see updated list below)

Updated list of extended programs as at 1 July 2026.

The live list is here (external link which may expire at some point)

What if the programs I train have not been given an extension!?

Then you will need to campaign for QCTO to establish that program. This article explains the process.

It has always been my recommendation that rather than trying to get more and more extensions, SDPs should try get their programs moved to QCTO as explained here.