01
Established 2024 · KwaZulu-Natal
A trade is a profession.We register it like one.
APASA is the professional body established to give qualified trades the same recognised standing, ethical code and continuing development that engineers and accountants have long enjoyed.
Modelled on the German Handwerkskammer system and adapted to South African law, the NQF and the SETA and QCTO landscape.
APASARegistered artisan
T. Ndlovu
Millwright
Designation
PrArt(SA)
Register no.
PRA-2025-0417
CPD current
- Professional designations
- 3
- Trades recognised
- 16
- Provincial structures
- 9
- Incorporated
- 2024
01/05Welding
01Who we are
The professional home of the South African artisans
APASA is a non-profit professional body advancing the standing of artisans in South Africa. Registration is awarded against published competency frameworks. Registered members subscribe to a code of conduct and maintain their status through an annual cycle of continuing professional development.
The association was incorporated on 15 October 2024 as a non-profit company, registration number 2024/645081/08. An application to the South African Qualifications Authority for recognition as a professional body is currently in preparation.
“The skill has never been in question. What has been missing is the record that proves it.”
02Mandate
What the association does
Five functions, carried out continuously rather than as a once-off registration.
02
Continuing professional development
03
Verification
04
Recognition of Prior Learning
05
Advocacy and policy
03The register
Three grades, what they cost, and how to join
Each designation carries a post-nominal you may use after your name, and a certificate an employer can verify.
Candidate Artisan
Apprentices, learners and newly qualified artisans building the workplace experience that leads to full professional status.
Professional Artisan
Qualified, trade tested artisans with demonstrated workplace competence and a current record of continuing development.
Master Artisan
Senior artisans with extensive experience who mentor, supervise, assess or lead teams and workshops.
Corporate Member
Employers, training providers, chambers and industry associations that hire, develop or assess artisans.
One flat fee for every grade: R300 a year, so that registration stays within reach of every working artisan.
Apprentices, learners and RPL candidates
Candidate Artisan
R300per year
What it includesQualified artisans
Professional Artisan
R300per year
What it includesSenior and specialist artisans
Master Artisan
R300per year
What it includesCorporate membership is R2 000 per year for smaller companies and R5 000 for bigger companies. CPD programmes are a flat R950. See corporate membership.
No queue at an office, and no paper form to collect. Everything is done from this site.
1Step one
Complete the application
Fifteen minutes. Your details, your trade, your qualification and your workplace experience, with the supporting documents attached as you go.
2Step two
Evidence review
The registration committee checks your evidence against the competency framework for the category you applied for. Ten working days for a complete application.
3Step three
Registration and fee
On approval you receive the invoice for the R300 annual fee. Pay by EFT or bank deposit, and your designation, certificate and entry on the register follow.
Start an application
Still deciding? Read the common questions or call the office, open 08:00 to 16:00, Monday to Friday.
Trades recognised
- Boilermaker
- Bricklayer
- Carpenter and Joiner
- Diesel Mechanic
- Electrician
- Fitter and Turner
- Instrumentation Mechanician
- Millwright
- Motor Mechanic
- Plumber
- Refrigeration Mechanic
- Rigger
- Sheet Metal Worker
- Toolmaker
- Welder
- Other recognised trade
04For employers
Hire from a pool that has already been checked
Corporate membership gives an employer access to verified artisans, a pre-employment diagnostic assessment for the artisans you are about to employ, and a route to formalise the skills already inside the business.
A verified talent pipeline
Hire from a pool where qualification and competence have already been checked. Less recruitment risk, and a lower cost of a bad hire.
Pre-employment diagnostic assessment
For bigger companies: a diagnostic trade assessment of the artisans you are about to employ, with a safety competence gate, timed technical modules and a written report on each candidate before you appoint.
Workforce RPL
Have long serving but unqualified staff assessed and formally recognised. Morale rises, and so does the skills profile of the business.
Skills development alignment
Host employer, apprenticeship and workplace experience placements structured to support employment equity and skills development reporting.
In-house training recognition
Employer run technical training mapped to the APASA CPD framework so that it counts towards the professional standing of your employees.
Profile and industry voice
Recognition as an APASA corporate member, and a seat at the table on artisan policy, standards and regional skills planning.
05News and events
APASA at the Cape Town Manufacturing Summit 2026
APASA is a proud endorsing partner of the Cape Town Manufacturing Summit 2026, and our President and Founder, Nhlanhla Magwaza, is a speaker.
- Date
- 11 November 2026
- Venue
- CTICC 2, Cape Town
- Speaker
- Nhlanhla Magwaza, President and Founder
- Topic
- Cape Town as a Manufacturing Gateway to Africa
The register
Sixteen trades. Three grades. One record an employer can check in a minute.