If you are not going to university next year, consider a QCTO qualification

What matric students can do to be ready for 2023

If you know what you want to do with your life, you’re sorted.  You are likely to have applied to study, maybe you have been accepted and are now just writing the prelims and finals before embarking on your next great adventure. Well done.

However, maybe you are in a different situation that is causing you much frustration. You want to get into a programme but don’t have the marks to do so, or maybe you just don’t know what to do.

Your decision isn’t final

While the choice of what to study is a big decision, the good news is that careers are more flexible than they were for previous generations. The modern workplace is about learning new things all the time, being flexible, being able to think critically and work with others.

Here are some changes to the world of work you need to be on top of for you to have a successful career.

Technology is a game-changer

It took 65 years, after the invention of the steam train, to develop the electric equivalent. Since then, technology changes have been coming faster and faster, infusing our every waking moment.  This is the key reason why you need to be flexible.  You need to be able to adapt to changing technologies.  While developers try to make it as easy as possible to change, it is the adaptability of your mindset that allows you to transition smoothly.

It’s about communication

While your career path for someone matriculating this year is very different from previous generations, one constant is the need to work with others.

All team members need to be able to communicate effectively, and work well, with others. This is more important than ever as people work remotely or in hybrid workplaces.  Communication oversights or misunderstandings cost money and time. They can also cost careers.

It’s about understanding people

People generally act in predictable ways. Many jobs now involve some kind of design for how people work. In management, you need to know how people will respond in different situations.  The advantages of understanding how people work are many, and these advantages you’ll need for a successful career. You could study social science to understand this, or you could research and write about people without a degree.  You’ll find out how, next.

How to best use your 2023

If you have not been accepted into your preferred course as you do not have a matric exemption or just are not sure what to do next, instead of repeating your matric subjects to gain a university exception or taking a gap year, have you considered the alternative? One such alternative is to enrol on a certificate programme.

There is a new approach to qualifications in South Africa, spearheaded by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO).  The goal of this approach is to ensure people have the workplace skills to succeed as well as the technical skills.  Adaptability has to be built into education for people entering the new world of work.  Why not take 2023 and make it count, by learning crucial skills?

QCTO qualifications are being developed currently, and some are already being delivered. Among them is the Occupational Certificate: Journalist. This certificate brings together everything you need to know to be a stellar journalist, but also gives you a good basis in numerous other jobs.

Here are some of the jobs you can do with the Occupational Certificate: Journalist

• Authors
• Beat or specialist reporters/ bloggers, for example technology or food reporting
• Brand specialists or in marketing
• Communicators in a range of industries
• Copy editors
• Copy writers
• Editors
• Graphics designers
• Investigative journalists
• Magazine journalists
• Multimedia producers
• News anchors or hosts of chat shows
• News editors
• Newspaper reporters
• Online content producers for a non-news company
• Online journalists
• Product writers
• Proof-readers
• Publishers
• Radio producers
• Researchers
• Social media managers
• Sub-editors
• Technical writers
• NGO worker
• News directors

Besides more media-centred jobs, the Occupational Certificate: Journalist offers the professional polish to your writing and personal skills that are now critical in every job.

Learning to be flexible to tech changes

During the certificate, you will learn to work with different types of content on different platforms.  You’ll learn to work with photographs, written content, videos and podcasts. You will learn important design principles for working with content and writing skills, but you will also learn to understand how technology platforms and apps work.

But more than that, journalism is an exercise in adaptability.  Things seldom go the way you expect and although you need to plan, you need to be able to change your plan at a moment’s notice.  Practising as a journalist, which you would do during this qualification teaches you flexibility, and how to make another plan quickly or change your approach to get the story out.

Learning to communicate

Writing is critical in the workplace, whether you need to write an email, a proposal, or a social media post.  Journalism gives you the basic writing skills you need as well as the principles of communication that underscore both inter-personal and public communication.

Understanding people

One of the greatest benefits of the Occupational Certificate: Journalist is the way you get to understand people.  You’ll do this by going to places you otherwise wouldn’t, and interviewing people you would otherwise not talk to. In researching and writing stories you get to know how people work.

Act now

Apply for the certificate now, find out more on the fraycollege website. Use discount code ‘Spring’ to apply for only R100 (valid until end August).  Only those who apply before the end of September will be eligible for our in-house bursaries.