Business, Commerce and Management Studies Finance, Economics and Accounting

Local Economic Development Unit Operations Management Training

SAQA US 110486 | NQF 6 | Credits 8 | Duration 5 Days
From $1,242 per delegate

Description

This course equips learners with the skills to manage local economic development (LED) unit operations effectively. It covers strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and resource mobilization to drive sustainable economic growth in municipalities. Participants will learn to align LED initiatives with national development frameworks and local priorities.

Learning Outcomes

  • Apply LED principles and frameworks to analyze local economic contexts.
  • Design an LED operational plan incorporating stakeholder participation and resource mobilization.
  • Implement monitoring and evaluation systems to track LED project performance.
  • Analyze the impact of LED interventions on local economic growth and job creation.
  • Evaluate partnerships and governance structures for effective LED delivery.
  • Demonstrate compliance with relevant legislation and policies governing LED.

Target Audience

This course is designed for municipal managers, LED officers, economic development planners, and professionals involved in local economic development projects within government or community organizations.

Prerequisites

None — open enrollment.

Course Outline

Day 1: Foundations of Local Economic Development

Objectives:
• Understand the concepts and principles of Local Economic Development (LED).
• Identify the key role players and stakeholders in LED.
• Explain the legal and policy framework for LED in South Africa.
• Describe the relationship between LED and broader economic development strategies.

Topics:
• Introduction to LED: definitions and scope.
• Principles of LED: sustainability, inclusivity, and local ownership.
• Key stakeholders: government, private sector, civil society.
• Policy context: National Development Plan, LED frameworks.
• The role of municipalities in LED.
• Case studies of successful LED initiatives in South Africa.

Day 2: Planning and Strategy Development for LED

Objectives:
• Develop a basic LED strategy aligned with local needs.
• Conduct a situational analysis using SWOT and PESTLE.
• Set SMART objectives for LED projects.
• Identify resource requirements and potential funding sources.

Topics:
• Steps in LED planning: assessment, vision, strategy.
• Tools for analysis: SWOT, PESTLE, stakeholder mapping.
• Formulating LED goals and objectives.
• Resource mobilisation: budgets, grants, partnerships.
• Aligning LED plans with IDP and sector plans.
• Group exercise: draft a mini LED strategy.

Day 3: Implementation and Project Management

Objectives:
• Apply project management principles to LED projects.
• Develop a project implementation plan with timelines and milestones.
• Monitor and evaluate LED project progress.
• Manage risks and address challenges in implementation.

Topics:
• Project lifecycle: initiation, planning, execution, closure.
• Tools for implementation: Gantt charts, logframes.
• Monitoring and evaluation: indicators, data collection.
• Risk management: identification, mitigation strategies.
• Case study: managing a local market development project.
• Practical: create an implementation plan for a LED project.

Day 4: Stakeholder Engagement and Partnerships

Objectives:
• Facilitate effective stakeholder engagement processes.
• Build and sustain partnerships for LED.
• Communicate LED initiatives to diverse audiences.
• Resolve conflicts and negotiate agreements.

Topics:
• Stakeholder analysis and mapping.
• Engagement techniques: workshops, public meetings, forums.
• Building public-private partnerships.
• Communication strategies: media, reports, presentations.
• Conflict resolution and negotiation skills.
• Role-play: stakeholder consultation meeting.

Day 5: Evaluation, Sustainability, and Integration

Objectives:
• Evaluate the impact of LED initiatives using appropriate tools.
• Develop sustainability plans for LED projects.
• Integrate LED into broader organisational operations.
• Prepare a comprehensive LED operations management report.

Topics:
• Impact assessment: economic, social, environmental.
• Sustainability strategies: financial, institutional, environmental.
• Mainstreaming LED into municipal operations.
• Reporting and documentation: formats, audiences.
• Final group presentation: LED operations management plan.
• Course review and action planning.

Practicals

No practicals for this training.

This course is made up of exercises and case studies delivered alongside the theory — no separate practical sessions are required to complete it.

Summatives

Each delegate is assessed continuously throughout the course and a final summative test at the end.

Daily Exercises — 30%

Every training day ends with a multiple-choice exercise scored out of 100%. The scores from each daily exercise are averaged across the duration of the course to produce a Daily Average mark, which contributes 30% to the final total.

Final Test — 70%

On the last day a final summative test is written. It is a multiple-choice paper with multiple-answer questions: each question may have more than one correct option, and a single wrong selection on a question marks the entire question wrong — no partial credit. The final test is scored out of 100% and contributes 70% to the overall mark.

Final Total
Component Out of Weight
Daily Average (multiple choice) 100% 30%
Final Test (multi-answer multiple choice) 100% 70%
Final Total 100%

All marks are recorded on the AATICD LMS and visible to each learner under their account.

Certificate

Certificate of Completion

Awarded to delegates who achieve an overall mark of 50% or higher on the Final Total (Daily Average 30% + Final Test 70%).

How it works
  • Certificates are auto-generated on the AATICD LMS as soon as the marks pass the 50% threshold.
  • Each certificate is a branded PDF with the delegate's name, the course title, the unit standard ID, NQF level, credits, and the date of issue.
  • You can download or print your certificate from your LMS dashboard at any time after issue — there's no reissue fee and no expiry date.
  • If you scored under 50% you can sit the final test again at the next scheduled session at no extra cost.
Where to find it

Sign in to the LMS, open your dashboard, and your certificates appear under My Certificates. Each entry has a View / Download button and a print option.

Training Discounts

Group discounts apply automatically — the more delegates you enrol, the greater the saving. Discounts are calculated at 3% per 5 delegates, scaling up to 40% off for 100+ delegates.

Delegates Discount
5 3% off
10 6% off
15 9% off
20 12% off
25 15% off
30 18% off
50 30% off
75 35% off
100 40% off

3% discount per 5 delegates, up to 40% off for 100+ delegates. Contact us for a custom group quote.

Upcoming Training Sessions
Online training — attend live sessions from anywhere via our virtual classroom.
Start End Delivery Season Price Action
Mon 07 Sep 2026 Fri 11 Sep 2026 Virtual Spring 2026 $1,242 Register
Mon 28 Sep 2026 Fri 02 Oct 2026 Virtual Spring 2026 $1,242 Register
Mon 19 Oct 2026 Fri 23 Oct 2026 Virtual Spring 2026 $1,242 Register
Mon 07 Dec 2026 Fri 11 Dec 2026 Virtual Summer 2026 $1,242 Register
Mon 11 Jan 2027 Fri 15 Jan 2027 Virtual Summer 2026 $1,242 Register
Mon 15 Feb 2027 Fri 19 Feb 2027 Virtual Summer 2026 $1,242 Register
Mon 01 Mar 2027 Fri 05 Mar 2027 Virtual Autumn 2027 $1,242 Register
Mon 08 Mar 2027 Fri 12 Mar 2027 Virtual Autumn 2027 $1,242 Register
Mon 15 Mar 2027 Fri 19 Mar 2027 Virtual Autumn 2027 $1,242 Register
Mon 07 Jun 2027 Fri 11 Jun 2027 Virtual Winter 2027 $1,242 Register
Mon 28 Jun 2027 Fri 02 Jul 2027 Virtual Winter 2027 $1,242 Register
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Mon 06 Sep 2027 Fri 10 Sep 2027 Virtual Spring 2027 $1,242 Register
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Mon 18 Oct 2027 Fri 22 Oct 2027 Virtual Spring 2027 $1,242 Register
Mon 06 Dec 2027 Fri 10 Dec 2027 Virtual Summer 2027 $1,242 Register
Mon 27 Dec 2027 Fri 31 Dec 2027 Virtual Summer 2027 $1,242 Register
Mon 17 Jan 2028 Fri 21 Jan 2028 Virtual Summer 2027 $1,242 Register
On-Campus training — face-to-face sessions at our training venues across Africa and beyond.
Showing all 533 sessions across 26 venues
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Mon 22 Jun 2026 Fri 26 Jun 2026 Mombasa, Kenya Winter 2026 $3,834 Register
Mon 22 Jun 2026 Fri 26 Jun 2026 Mbabane, Eswatini Winter 2026 $2,916 Register
Mon 22 Jun 2026 Fri 26 Jun 2026 Nairobi, Kenya Winter 2026 $3,834 Register
Mon 22 Jun 2026 Fri 26 Jun 2026 Maseru, Lesotho Winter 2026 $2,916 Register
Mon 22 Jun 2026 Fri 26 Jun 2026 Windhoek, Namibia Winter 2026 $3,078 Register
In-House training — we bring the trainer to your organisation, tailored to your team.
Start End Delivery Season Price Action
Mon 22 Jun 2026 Fri 26 Jun 2026 Your Premises Winter 2026 $1,615 Register
Mon 14 Sep 2026 Fri 18 Sep 2026 Your Premises Spring 2026 $1,615 Register
Mon 05 Oct 2026 Fri 09 Oct 2026 Your Premises Spring 2026 $1,615 Register
Mon 26 Oct 2026 Fri 30 Oct 2026 Your Premises Spring 2026 $1,615 Register
Mon 14 Dec 2026 Fri 18 Dec 2026 Your Premises Summer 2026 $1,615 Register
Mon 18 Jan 2027 Fri 22 Jan 2027 Your Premises Summer 2026 $1,615 Register
Mon 22 Feb 2027 Fri 26 Feb 2027 Your Premises Summer 2026 $1,615 Register
Mon 08 Mar 2027 Fri 12 Mar 2027 Your Premises Autumn 2027 $1,615 Register
Mon 15 Mar 2027 Fri 19 Mar 2027 Your Premises Autumn 2027 $1,615 Register
Mon 22 Mar 2027 Fri 26 Mar 2027 Your Premises Autumn 2027 $1,615 Register
Mon 14 Jun 2027 Fri 18 Jun 2027 Your Premises Winter 2027 $1,615 Register
Mon 05 Jul 2027 Fri 09 Jul 2027 Your Premises Winter 2027 $1,615 Register
Mon 26 Jul 2027 Fri 30 Jul 2027 Your Premises Winter 2027 $1,615 Register
Mon 13 Sep 2027 Fri 17 Sep 2027 Your Premises Spring 2027 $1,615 Register
Mon 04 Oct 2027 Fri 08 Oct 2027 Your Premises Spring 2027 $1,615 Register
Mon 25 Oct 2027 Fri 29 Oct 2027 Your Premises Spring 2027 $1,615 Register
Mon 13 Dec 2027 Fri 17 Dec 2027 Your Premises Summer 2027 $1,615 Register
Mon 03 Jan 2028 Fri 07 Jan 2028 Your Premises Summer 2027 $1,615 Register
Mon 24 Jan 2028 Fri 28 Jan 2028 Your Premises Summer 2027 $1,615 Register
Training Discounts
Delegates Discount
5 3% off
10 6% off
15 9% off
20 12% off
25 15% off
30 18% off
50 30% off
75 35% off
100 40% off

3% off per 5 delegates, up to 40% for 100+

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