CIDA City Campus in Johannesburg has launched ConnectLab, a contact centre simulation site that trains unemployed youths to become call centre agents.
The CIDA ConnectLab is part of a learnership programme that uses a contact centre training simulation environment to teach contact centre skills.
It is run by Connectivity, a company that specialises in contact centre simulation software. Connectivity is a subsidiary of the CIDA Investment Trust, which uses the profits it makes to offer bursaries to CIDA students.
Taddy Blecher, CEO of CIDA City Campus, said in officially launching the centre this morning that he is "thrilled about the initiative".
"The contact centre is one of the biggest sectors in SA. The whole focus is to get unemployed youths into this industry," Blecher said.
"We approached Dell to set up a fully operational simulated call centre environment. They donated 28 PCs and 13 servers worth R3 million."
The centre teaches telephone skills within 15 days, through role-plays and linguistic and voice training. On completing the training, the students are awarded the National Certificate in Call Centre Support or the National Qualification in Call Centre Operations, both of which are accredited by the Services SETA.
"Agent and learner competence development is fast-tracked through this blended learning approach that incorporates e-learning, facilitator-led processes and a simulated contact centre environment," says Kerrin Miller, national portfolio manager for contact centres.
"We have seen improvements in performance, with 30% reduction in training time. We tested this approach by offering 1 500 learnerships in a pilot programme earlier this year. In fact, 90% of those learners have been placed in call centre jobs," says Miller.
Rob Nunn, chairman of the Dell Foundation, says it is Dell`s global commitment to contribute positively in every culture and community in which it serves.
"For this reason, Dell decided to support the CIDA initiative. We believe that through improving social conditions, we improve business conditions. Our continued support through this call centre initiative is proof of our commitment to sustainable development," says Nunn.
CIDA ConnectLabs are now open at CIDA campuses in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban.
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