Congratulations for choosing to make an informed decision about your career. This is the most important first step in your career journey and the Moss Movement is proud to be part of this milestone.
This Career Guide is meant to give you the motivation towards fulfilling your career aspirations and advice on how to search for opportunities to better your life by embarking on a career that is in high demand within the various sectors across the South African Economy, with an outlook also at the greater African economy, as we see the development coming in, in almost all the countries of Africa, in tune with the latest “Africa Rising” theme. We invite and encourage young people to explore and enrol for suitable careers in those various sectors and trades of their choice.
A career that has been on the minds and lips of many recently, especially in South Africa, is that which is consistent with the energy and water sector. The shift in global focus towards sustainable solutions is a testament that there are limitless new career opportunities in the energy and water spheres of economies globally. Remember, it is important to take mathematics and science or math and accounting to pursue the various careers in the sector. But rest assured, as in due time I will be touching on this and the other many sectors that are proving to be booming with opportunities, especially for the young person living in today’s multi-media world.
I wish you well as you browse through this career guide. Make informed decisions, and be a champion.
Previously I spoke about the different avenues of education and the various opportunities available for any person who is interested in self-development through further education and training, and also highlighted the importance of FET colleges. I touched on the role of SETAs in relation to our education system and the knock on effect they have across the skills spectrum of the South African labour muscle – in it an ever present contrast to Continuous Professional Development (CPD), of which later on in this series we will discuss.
This week we will take off with an elaboration on the themes of Skills Development, under the following sub headings:
- Learnerships
- Apprenticeships
- Internships
- Adult Education and Training
- Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
- Skills Programmes
Let us look again at Learnerships:
Learnerships are created with the Job market in mind. In other words, if there are any skills shortages within the economy, learnerships can be created to train people for the skill. Learnerships address skills shortages and contribute towards creating jobs and resolving the unemployment crisis.
Three key factors make up any learnership, as follows:
- Structured learning which is theoretical and usually takes place within a classroom environment.
- Practical work experience of a specific type and duration within a workplace or simulated work environment
- Lead to NQF qualification related to an occupation.
Any person either employed or unemployed can participate in an internship. If employed, you can register for a learnership through your company or within the sector of which your company operates in – Continuous Professional Development (CPD). If you are unemployed, you may register for placement at a local labour centre or through employers in your area. The Department of Labour Centres are responsible for registering the unemployed and placing them in learnerships if they meet the minimum requirements. Learners do not have to pay for the learnership and the unemployed are given an allowance/ stipend to cover the costs of the transport and food during training.
(FOR A LIST OF DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR CENTRES REFFER TO https://www.labour.gov.za/DOL/contacts)
Consider the following diagram:
Accredited training providers must provide the training on a learnership for it to be recognised by employers. As it is a structured programme, the workplace component will need to be inspected to see whether the employer can provide the necessary workplace support.
Learnerships normally take up to a year to complete. The learner is assessed throughout by a qualified assessor and the SETA moderates this intervention. If the learner is found to be competent, a National Qualification will be awarded to the learner.
Apprenticeships:
An apprenticeship is a technical training system that includes practical and theoretical training. They are offered in particular trades such as millwright/fitter and after passing a trade test the learner/employee is recognised as an artisan.
Apprenticeships are different from learnerships in that they are job and not career orientated, and relate to a specific trade. This means that if you participate in an apprenticeship you will learn a trade to fill a particular job post. Any person over the age of 16 may apply but good marks in maths and science increase the chances of learners being selected to participate.
Any employer offering apprenticeship training must be workplace approved. The learner will then be indentured in a designated trade in terms of the Manpower Training Act. They can also study and get a N2 certificate with a relevant FET college. The employer will pay for this and when they are successful and have passed the trade test they will be awarded the National Trade Certificate and will be recognised as a qualified artisan.
Internships:
An internship is a temporary position created within a company to provide learners with supervised on-the-job training. Internships are usually for students and university graduates who are seeking some kind of work experience at an entry level. An intern can be paid and/or partly paid by the companybut there are currently no rules or regulations surrounding this.
Adult Education and Training:
This is a route for any youth or adult who had no opportunity to finish Grade 9 or reach Grade 10 of high school and are excluded from further education opportunities due to lack of minimum requirements.
Adult education and training is the foundation towards lifelong learning and development, compromising of knowledge, skills and attitudes required for social, economic and political participation for adults. Through all SETA learning programmes there is an opportunity to acquire the much needed literacy and numeracy skills to secure and keep a job or pursue further studies.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is a process whereby people’s prior learning can be formally recognised in terms of registered qualifications and unit standards, regardless of where and how the learning was attained. RPL acknowledges that people never stop learning, whether it takes place formally at an educational institution, or whether it happens informally.
There are a number of education and training providers who offer RPL services in their respective fields of learning.
Skills Programmes:
Skills programmes are shorter learning programmes that are a stepping stone to a full qualification. They are job focused training interventions and are often introduced in response to a skills need in a particular industry where an urgent job is requiredbut the employees do not have the appropriate skills. Skills programmes are important as they are building blocks towards a full qualification – all the credits gained make up the building blocks towards a full qualification.
Skills programmes have a practical component and therefore provide learners with the experience they need to increase their employability, self employment and mobility in the workplace.
And that brings us to the end of this week’s post. Do look out for next week’s post, where we go further into the topic of skills development. Next week we will take a look at the responsibilities of Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), and I will also talk about the South African Qualifications Authority and National Qualifications Framework, which incorporates bodies such as SAQA and Umalusi.
