In 1998, the Skills Development Act was implemented in South Africa. Its purpose was to encourage employers to provide skills training for employees through the use of a levy system linked to a company’s payroll. Ten years on, the system is burdened with bureaucracy. Whilst there is evidence of increased skills training, it varies greatly within and between sectors. In particular, it would seem that many small- to medium-sized enterprises do not have the human resources to comply with the criteria to receive and administer the funds, adding the one percent skills training levy to their tax burden.