As part of its ongoing corporate social investment, Siyandza Skills Development has partnered with Harambe, a Reiger Park, Ekurhuleni, community initiative, to improve skills development in the area.
Twelve previously unemployed individuals between the ages of 18 and 23 have been accepted to participate in a full CompTIA+ certification and work readiness training scheme.
They will undergo theory based e-learning through Siyandza's Online Campus, as well as hands-on practical classroom training at the Harambe Community Centre.
Mark Jacobs, Siyandza's Business Development Manager, said: “We needed to do something that struck a chord with both Siyandza and the Harambe Community Centre, which really meant finding a cost-effective way to develop practical skills to give people a real chance at finding jobs.”
“This is not straightforward,” adds Jacobs. “In fact, in many ways it is what the whole country is trying to do, only on a smaller scale.
“This meant taking a step back and taking a long, hard look at what Siyandza had in place already, and which could be deployed easily but which also would not become just another skills development project with no concrete results for the learners.
“We have an extensive offering,” says Jacobs. “Our facilitators are world-class, our training venue is fit for purpose, and we have a wide range of learning material; however, after much debate, we decided to focus on using our e-learning solution since this platform lends itself to technical training, while classroom training tends to be more effective in developing behavioural skills.”
Since the Siyandza Online Campus is an all-inclusive online training and learning portal, it offered the Harambe Community Centre an accessible, cost-effective solution with proven results.
“We have literally thousands of courses to choose from,” says Jacobs, “but we took the decision to first canvas a number of prospective employers and find out who might consider taking on a group of newly qualified employees, and what qualification they would expect them to have.
“From the results of this survey,” says Jacobs, “we are confident that the CompTIA A+ Certification course we've chosen produces marketable prospective employees; in fact, we've already had an expression of interest from one of South Africa's largest computer retail stores.
“It doesn't end there though,” says Jacobs. “We also are taking the group through a Work Readiness Programme, custom designed and developed by Siyandza's Development Team.
“That way we not only give them the technical theory and skills they need to do a specific job, but also equip the learners with the foundational emotional intelligence knowledge they need to be able to get ahead in their careers.”
“This is a pilot project,” says Jeff Austin, CEO of Siyandza, “and if the results are as good as we anticipate them to be, we want to expand into other areas with the same model.”
“We hope,” adds Jacobs, “that the learners will use this opportunity to the full, and perhaps one day they will be in a position to help another community pull together toward a better life.”
For additional information, contact:
Mark Jacobs
Siyandza Skills Development
+27 11 656 1443
Fax: +27 11 518 4519
E-mail: info@siyandza.co.za
Web site: www.siyandza.co.za
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Siyandza Skills Development
Siyandza Skills Development is a SETA accredited Level 3 BEE empowered company, offering full service call centre and middle management training. Committed to delivering outcomes-based training solutions, Siyandza tailors solutions to clients' specific requirements. Siyandza offers both customised training programmes and training services to organisations, as well as classroom and online public training courses for individual learners. Web site address: www.siyandza.co.za
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