Behind every trusted dataset is a team of dedicated professionals committed to operational rigour, ethical data collection and standardised quality assurance. At DataDrive2030, this operational engine is driven by  our Workforce Warriors team— which recruits, trains, accredits and manages a national network of highly skilled ELOM field assessors. These frontline professionals  ensure that every child assessment is conducted with consistency, professionalism and care. The work may happen behind the scenes, but its impact reaches far beyond the field. The quality of South Africa’s early childhood evidence depends on the quality of the people collecting it.

Becoming an accredited ELOM assessor involves far more than attending training. According to Boitumelo Khunou, Workforce Development Lead, “Assessors are recruited, trained and accredited before entering the field. Once active, ongoing quality assurance and professional development ensure our high standards are maintained. From preparing learning materials to supporting assessors before, during and after deployment, the Workforce Warriors team continuously strengthens the systems that underpin reliable data collection.”
The second quarter of 2026 demonstrated this commitment in action. A five-day ELOM 4&5 assessor training in Tzaneen equipped the Clemengold team with the skills needed to conduct high-quality child assessments, while LPQA training in KwaZulu-Natal strengthened learning programme evaluation capacity among partners from IRD Global and Training in Resources & Resources in Early Education (TREE). The team also introduced practical improvements to training delivery, streamlined operational logistics and began developing a new workforce management system to better track and support trainers and assessors nationwide.
These field-infrastructure efforts form part of a collective push to continuously enhance early childhood measurement systems. Every well-supported assessor contributes to a vital chain of quality: effective training leads to reliable assessments, reliable assessments produce trusted data, and trusted data empowers organisations to make better decisions for young children.

To learn more about becoming an ELOM assessor, email assessors@datadrive2030.co.za or visit www.datadrive2030.co.za to learn more about our assessment tools and training opportunities.