Every Tuesday morning from 8.30am until 1pm, children from the senior phase of Unity College go out into the working world and learn skills that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives.
The special needs school, which is located in Chartwell, has made their work experience programme part of the senior children’s weekly routine in order to help them become workplace-ready, learn practical skills that they could not learn in a classroom and provide them with a preview of what it will be like in the working world once they finish schooling. Learners go to an employee’s premises and complete a range of tasks as part of the experience.
“The focus is really for our to children acquire skills that they will be able to use once they leave school,” explained Debbie Röhrs, the acting head of department for the senior phase. “This experience will give them exposure to the working world, as well as create the routine of going to work so that when they leave school, they will be used to it.
“It is so important that they learn independence and life skills.”
There are two types of work experience for the children, based on how long the child has been going out for experience and how well they adapt and grow. Children who have participated for six months or less or who are new to the school, participate in ‘sheltered employment’. Children who have been doing it longer, or who have become more confident in their abilities, enter the open labour market.
“Sheltered employment is employment in places like a live-in facility for adults with special needs,” explained Shadreck Chidakwa, the work experience coordinator at the school. “The children will do tasks such as putting together plugs at this facility and school staff will join them while they are there.
“For the children involved in the open labour market, the school boss drops them off at their place of work, which is a regular business.”
The sheltered employment children in January 2020 attended work at Novalis House and Logwood Village, both institutions which supports, cares for and trains intellectually disabled adults to lead good lives, where they performed tasks such as putting plugs together or assembled medical supplies.
For the open market labour children, the new year saw them working at two Spur restaurants in the Fourways area – Grey Wolf Spur at Broadacres Shopping Centre and Eagle Falls Spur at Fourways Crossing Shopping Centre.
“We bring the children into the kitchen and establish what jobs and tasks they’re good at doing, with staff giving feedback every week,” said Jouline Venter, the manager at Grey Wolf Spur. “It’s incredible to see how the children grow in enthusiasm while being here, and it’s wonderful to see their excitement.”
The children’s efforts are paying off. Venter has been particularly impressed with one Unity child’s progress. “William [Wang] has grown so much since he’s been here,” she explained. “He’s been working closely with Dora [Ksuzwayo, a cook at the restaurant] in the Tex-Mex section where he has excelled. This section is where things like pizzas and nachos are made, so creativity is needed and William’s been doing an amazing job.”
Later this year, Unity College will be opening a vocational training centre on their campus to offer the same kind of growth to those older than school-aged.
Details: www.unity-college.org.za
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