June 29, 2004
By Thomas Thale
THE City of Johannesburg is tackling the shortage of skills in the labour market by forging partnerships and funding projects dedicated to training and uplifting the city's workforce.
The City's Economic Development Unit (EDU) was set up in 2003 to promote economic growth in line with the Joburg 2030 strategy. The strategy anticipates the City playing an active role in boosting economic growth by focusing on designated growth sectors of Johannesburg's economy.
The skills-development project run by the EDU sets out to meet the skills needed by industry.
Linda Vilakazi-Tselane, the programme manager of skills development in the EDU, says the City has entered into partnerships with educational institutions that provide training and develop skills.
"We have established working relationships with various institutions which offer learning programmes which are in line with our vision."
Scholars as traders on the bourse
The City - in its endeavour to produce business-savvy graduates from disadvantaged communities - is sponsoring 109 schools that are taking part in the JSE/Liberty Schools Challenge, a programme that introduces scholars to the workings of the stock market.
Johannesburg has contributed R250 000 to enable the learners to participate.
Competitors are given an imaginary portfolio of R1-million with which to buy and sell shares, says Pearl Moatshe, the JSE's education manager.
"They are encouraged to research and strategise issues surrounding the trading of JSE listed shares. Trading is like in real life and learners have to place their buy-and-sell orders on a regular basis."
The competition, which has been running since the 1970s, now attracts 375 entrants. The winning school gets unit trusts from Liberty Life. There are also prizes for the top 10 teams, says Moatshe.
Producing business graduates with a social conscience
The City has also established a good working relationship with CIDA City Campus, a university that offers business courses to students from previously disadvantaged communities, says Vilakazi-Tselane. CIDA students are also required to do community work.
According to Vilakazi-Tselane, the City has signed a memorandum of understanding with CIDA to produce business graduates with a sense of social responsibility.
Pepsi Pokane - who was, until recently, projects manager for external projects at CIDA - says third-year CIDA students have trained more than 500 informal traders in the inner city, Kliptown, Baragwanath and Lenasia since August 2003.
"The course runs over three weekends and covers areas such as small-business development and management, money management and banking," says Pokane.
According to Pokane, the City provides finance, contributes content and provides markets for the informal traders.
The City also sponsors the annual awards CIDA gives to students who excel in their contribution to community development.
"CIDA runs several programmes to get students on campus to train members of their communities in life skills and entrepreneurship," explains Pokane. "The awards thus recognise students who have contributed to community upliftment."
Giving toddlers a good foundation
The City is also sponsoring the Curriculum Development Project (CDP), an NGO in Joubert Park that trains early-childhood caregivers from poor areas.
Lael Bethlehem, the director of the EDU, says the City wanted to give children from disadvantaged backgrounds a reasonable start in life.
"Children who don't have proper education in the foundation phase struggle to cope with school in later years," explains Bethlehem.
"Adults of 2030 are the toddlers of today."
Charlotte Schaer, the director of the CDP, says the institution trains unqualified pre-school teachers in the city.
"There are many childcare givers who look after children in many of the crowded flats in the city and in informal settlements. Many of them don't have playgrounds, toys, teaching aids or formal qualifications to keep children mentally stimulated," explains Schaer.
"In our project, we design and implement educator-training programmes in arts and culture for these teachers. We take such people through training, focussing on cognitive development, using the creative arts."
The institution has trained 750 teachers who have gone on to teach about 75 000 children across the city, says Schaer.
According to Schaer, the City has contributed R480 000 to the project, enabling the organisation to provide about 312 hours of contact training and 100 hours of on-site support and assessment to each candidate.
"We are delighted with the support from the City and we hope our partnership will grow even stronger," says Schaer.
Forging ties with institutions of higher learning
In November last year, the City of Johannesburg signed a memorandum of understanding with five institutions of higher learning: Wits University, Rau University, Wits Technikon, the Florida campus of Unisa and the East Rand campus of Vista University.
To follow up this commitment, the parties recently held a one-day workshop that adopted a plan to develop the key areas of the relationship.
"We will be investigating the possibility of jointly setting up a foundation school which offers some kind of a bridging course for learners who have completed matric and want to continue their studies at tertiary institutions," says Vilakazi-Tselane.
Other than this, the City has established good working relationships with the individual institutions, says Vilakazi-Tselane.
"Wits, for instance, has been involved with the Braamfontein regeneration project. We will continue working closely with these institutions, collectively and individually."
Creating the scientists of tomorrow
Extra lessons offered by Protec have also attracted the attention of the City. The body offers maths and science lessons to black girls on Saturdays.
"Our aim in financing this project is to encourage girl learners to enter this competitive stream," explains Vilakazi-Tselane.
The City is also one of the main sponsors of the Sci-bono centre in Newtown. It is the largest science-exhibition centre in the continent and promotes maths, science and technology education in Gauteng.
Through the Johannesburg Development Agency, the City has contributed significantly to the R150-million centre - which was initiated by the national and Gauteng departments of education and Blue IQ.
In the future, says Vilakazi-Tselane, the City will forge closer ties with the Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas) in fields such as services, wholesale and retail.
"We have already had preliminary contact with these Setas. We see them as well-placed resources to increase the skills base of the city," says Vilakazi-Tselane.
Vilakazi-Tselane, however, expresses concern that not much has been done to recognise prior learning. "We need facility to structure the recognition of prior learning in the city."
Vilakazi-Tselane says such a facility would go some way towards closing the gap between what she calls the first economy and the second economy. The first economy refers to the mainstream, formal sector; the second economy incorporates the informal sector.
"By formalising the skills acquired by experienced workers, we will enable them to use their expertise to benefit from the growth in the first economy," says Vilakazi-Tselane.
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
