Thursday, 7 January 2016

HIGHER EDUCATION NEWS

Wits crowned debating champs

Mighti Jamie, a third year law student and social activist, and Nonhlanhla Masanabo, a first year law student, one of three teams that represented Wits University at the recently held Pan-African Universities Debating Championships, topped the competition.

The championships seek to examine the solutions to African and global challenges and to promote the discipline of debate which is critical to creating correct discourse in policy-making and civic engagement. Teams from across Africa with diverse representations from Gambia, Nigeria, Togo, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Liberia, Cameroon and others fruitfully contributed to the debates.

Brokering a deal

The Wits team was the last South African team in the final against Ghana, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. The Wits team argued that the African Union should attempt to broker a deal with the International Criminal Court (ICC) that requires the indictment of George W Bush by the ICC in exchange for the enforcement of the already existing indictment of Omar Al Bashir by African states.

Jamie and Masanabo also scooped the top two individual speaker awards. Jamie was ranked the best debater in Africa for 2015 while Masanabo was ranked second overall. Jamie was also the runner-up in the public speaking division.

Bongani Masilela, also from Wits University, was ranked fifth overall speaker in the tournament.

Better than the status quo

"These achievements are also a reminder that there are young people who are preparing to lead the continent into a new era with competence and with excellence," said Jamie. "There is a community of young people stretching and reaching out to be better than the status quo. There are young people who still love to reason and to read and to challenge themselves."

Wits teams:

Mighti Jamie and Nonhlanhla Masanabo
Naomi Lubinsky and Bongani Masilela
Rubin Valodia and Lebogang Moloko

The Pan-African Universities Debating Championships was held from the 8-17 December 2015 at the University of Ghana in Accra.

Posted on 21 Dec 2015 09:47

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SKILLS TRAINING NEWS

Six reasons why training pays off

BY: SANDRA SWANEPOEL

Every business with a payroll in excess of R500,000 pays a Skills Development Levy to the government for each employee and can claim back a portion of that amount in the form of training grants. Why leave that money on the table when companies can use it to improve the performance of their workforce? Here are some of the ways that an investment in training can pay off.

Improve employee performance
The most obvious reason to invest in training employees is that it will help them to become more efficient, productive, effective and informed. Depending on the training, they'll be: able to answer technical questions from customers without asking a colleague; more skilled and hence faster at doing their work; better equipped to make good business decisions; or able to add new tasks and duties to their job description.
Retain talent and improve company morale
Most employees want to feel valued by the company they work for. Giving them possibilities for self-improvement is one of the best ways you can help your people feel that you appreciate their talents and hard work. Offering the right training opportunities to your employees will help you to retain your best talent and improve morale throughout your organisation.
Boost customer service
One of the best reasons for investing in training and development is the halo effect it will have for customer service. Not only does training equip your people with skills and knowledge to enable them to do their jobs better, it also improves their job satisfaction. Happy employees usually mean happy customers. Whether you're training your people to use your systems more effectively, educating them in ethics or law, or helping them develop softer skills such as negotiation and sales techniques, your customers will benefit.
Comply with regulations and laws
There are two aspects to consider here. The first of these is that staff may need to be trained in the laws and industry regulations that govern your business so that they can comply. For example, the company's consumer-facing staff might need to understand what the Consumer Protection Act says about customer service, while the payroll team will need constant training to keep ahead of a changing tax environment.

The other point to consider is how training and development can help you comply with employment equity and black economic empowerment codes. A good training and development programme can help you to build a representative workforce that meets the needs of these laws and regulations.
Create career paths and succession plans
Your employees will want to feel as though there is a roadmap for their future with your business. By mapping out a training and development programme for them spanning a couple of years, you can help them to plan their career in your organisation. Taking this medium term view of career development for your staff will also help you to create succession plans for key roles in the organisation. Thus, you'll be in a good position to promote from inside the company when a key person leaves or moves up the ladder.
Company-wide consistency
Most employees have some gaps in their skills base, experience and knowledge. The more proactive ones will go out and finding training and mentoring to close these gaps. Others will rely on colleagues to help them complete certain tasks. Either way, the result is inconsistent performance.

A good training strategy will help harmonise your skills base so that employees can fill in for each other when necessary or work on their own without constant help and supervision from others. A structured programme will ensure that each employee has a consistent approach and set of skills to draw from.

Posted on 9 Dec 2015 11:54

Tuesday, 5 January 2016

SKILLS TRAINING NEWS

Graduates failing to get state jobs

Thousands of newly qualified social work graduates, who paid for their studies with state bursaries on the basis that they would work for the state after graduating, have been left high and dry across the country.

There are a further 5000 state-scholarship funded social work students in South Africa who are poised to enter the university system on the same basis "that they will work for the state when they graduate".

Not a single social work graduate was employed by the state in the Eastern Cape this financial year.

Many of the state scholarship graduates who protested at the department's headquarters in King William's Town recently claimed that the provincial department was also not releasing them from their contracts to work for non-governmental organisations.

This was denied by the government.

National Department of Social Development spokeswoman Lumka Oliphant said the Eastern Cape was among the provinces which had large numbers of graduates who could not be recruited into state employment.

Oliphant said the department spent about R65,000 on each scholarship student a year.

Source: Herald

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING NEWS

Empowering the previously disadvantaged through upskilling

With a high unemployment rate, Africa is sitting on a largely untapped pool of resources that has the potential to drive economic growth.

The problem, says Pitso Kekana, head of public afairs and corporate citizenship for Samsung Africa RHQ, lies in both the lack of relevant skills and the availability of existing jobs for an ever-growing working-age population.

The key is to find ways of upskilling what is largely the previously disadvantaged portion of the population to empower them to find employment.

Creating new avenues of employment

According to a report by the World Bank, in the last 20 years the working-age population in South Africa has grown by 11-million, making up 65% of the country's total population. However, since 2000 the total number of jobs created has fallen short of the growing labour supply, with only 2.8-million new jobs created. This is why it is so important to empower the population with the skills needed to create new avenues of employment through entrepreneurship.

If some 5.8-million jobs are created over the next 15 years to absorb the new working-age entrants, and if workers' productivity improves through better skills development, real GDP in South Africa could reach 5.4% per year. This would mean the doubling of per capita income by 2030 and a lowering of the unemployment rate.

Importance of entrepreneurs

So, where do we start to create these new jobs? The importance of entrepreneurs here can't be ignored. Across Africa, they make up 90% of private business and contribute to more than 50% of employment and GDP. Entrepreneurs are national assets that need to be cultivated, motivated and remunerated as much as possible. If successful, their businesses have the potential to generate wealth and create additional jobs. They also regularly support other entrepreneurial ventures by like-minded individuals to further grow the ecosystem.

The question is how to go about upskilling would-be entrepreneurs to ensure that they have the desired impact on economic growth. Given Africa's rapid increase in mobile phone users - 40-fold since 2000 - it is clear that technology will play a fundamental role.

Growing ICT sector

The government needs to ensure that there is a growing ICT sector to stimulate growth in job-rich sectors like manufacturing and services. The public sector must also lead by creating a favourable regulatory environment for investment in ICT and new technology. Just having access to the internet can change a previously disadvantaged individual's life through online learning resources and platforms with which to upskill, develop an idea or start a business.

Along with the public sector working on its ICT policies, private sector companies have the power to make use of ICT to provide career guidance and skills development. By using their areas of expertise, these companies can also help ensure that upskilling meets real market demands; that the working-age population is making the right decisions about which skills to pursue in order to find employment; that they equally have the soft skills required to land and hold down a job or run a business; and that this population is given the tools they need to create their own work as entrepreneurs.

Raising living standards

The development of relevant skills is an important instrument for improving productivity and unlocking new opportunities, which in turn opens doors to economic growth. To bring about rising living standards through improved employment rates, South Africa's working population must improve their educational and skills levels, especially their technical and vocational skills - but they can't do this without the help of both the public and private sector. If this is achieved, and the previously disadvantaged are given the same skills and opportunities as the rest of the working population, South Africa - and the rest of Africa - will be well-positioned for growth, not only now but into the future as skills and new working opportunities are carried forward to the next generation.

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING NEWS

Mentoring - the ultimate New Year's resolution

Eat less, exercise more, work harder, take more time off, become a volunteer. Ever notice how your New Year's resolutions stay the same year after year, yet you never actually turn your end-of-year determination into the life-changing habits and career growth you envisioned?

This year, it might be worth looking at your vision for the future from a different angle, and pay it forward in a way that will also bring personal growth and career advancement, an education expert says.

Hard to sustain

"There are many reasons why New Year's resolutions don't become habits and this is true even of those who are altruistic and service-oriented. While many of us feel we should be doing more for the community, most of us find it really hard to sustain our commitment to volunteer," says Dr Felicity Coughlan, Director of The Independent Institute of Education.

But she says a decision to become a mentor will tick all the boxes and ensure this year's resolutions make a personal and societal difference well into the future.

Pay it forward

"Mentoring is the ultimate New Year's resolution - a gift that keeps giving, that pays it forward, that does not involve a huge amount of time if you leverage technology to help you do it, and that enriches you too," she says.

Coughlan notes that a mentor is any person who has a relationship with a less experienced person focused on the development of the skills, contribution and job satisfaction of that person.

"It is a guiding and modelling process in which the mentor and the less experienced person discuss the work (and work life balance) of the mentee and generate solutions and strategies for success. It is not training - it is about helping the person develop insights into how best to manage their careers; how their actions impact on their success and how to leverage the things they are good at."

Peer-to-peer mentoring

She says anyone can be a mentor - regardless of their current position - as there will always be someone who is less experienced or just starting out who may look for guidance.

"Some training is valuable, but most of what you need to know you can find using the services of Dr Google. From an experience point of view, you do not need more than a few years' experience and you do not have to be in a senior or management position. Some of the most effective mentoring is peer-to-peer."

Coughlan says that the following points are critical to the success of the mentoring relationship - for the mentor and mentee:

1. Determine when.

How much time can you commit? Be honest with yourself - choose a number in your head and halve it.

2. Determine who, what and where.

You can mentor someone in your current workplace either as part of a formal programme, as an initiative of your own or with a team, or you can join a mentoring programme for tertiary students. You can also volunteer to mentor a young person from your community or extended family.

3. Get organised.

A good mentor must be organised. Not only does this help you to show the person how to use organisation skills to succeed, but you will find the time commitment of mentoring easier to handle if it becomes part of your daily planning.

4. Be process-oriented.

Mentors understand how and why things work and are consistent in their approach to work.

5. Be curious and respectful.

Ask questions from the mentee and lead them to their own conclusions. A good mentor observes behaviours and their consequences and helps a mentee to link the two objectively.

6. Deal with your own issues outside of the mentoring relationship.

The best mentors can really focus on the career needs of the mentee and not try to mould them to succeed where they did not, or push them into following their own path. A good mentor can separate him or herself from the mentee and enjoy being part of a different world view.

7. Be patient but firm and objective.

Express opinions and help brainstorm options, but let the mentee find his or her own way (mistakes and all). Do not become judgmental. If a mentee fears judgement or disappointing the mentor they will lie or under-report and this makes the whole process useless.

8. Be realistic.

Know when the impact you are having is too low to justify the time commitment or when you are in fact holding someone back.

"This list may read as daunting, but we have found with our mentors that a conscious attention to these areas of their own functioning has had the really big positive impact of also improving their own performance and satisfaction at work.

"Mentoring really is the best resolution you can take as you start your new year, because you will make an important difference to someone else while at the same time refining some of your own personal and work habits for the benefit of your own career. That is hard to beat as a way to get ahead in 2016."

FMCG NEWS

Retailers focus on educational wins

Over and above the expected 'back to school' specials, Shoprite and Checkers are giving back through their educationally-minded initiatives of 'Class of 2016' and 'Feed a Child, Nourish a Mind'. Here's how.

The Shoprite Group is proving its belief that education is the foundation for future entrepreneurship and equipping the youth to unlock their potential through initiatives that offer consumers the lowest prices and best value on Back To School items, while also facilitating learning.

Feed a child, nourish a mind

Proper nutrition leads to better learning and clearer thinking. With over 4-million school children affected by hunger in SA every day, Checkers partnered with The Lunchbox Fund to develop a special exam pad. Each R10 purchase of the product will provide a nutritional, hot meal for a schoolchild in need.

Class of 2016

For the past decade, Shoprite stores have sponsored school fees for hundreds of learners through its annual 'Class Of...' competition.

The initiative is set to continue in the new year, with every one of Shoprite's 420 South African stores providing a learner with free education for a full year through its 'Class of 2016' competition.

'Class of 2016' entry forms are available in stores. Entrants just have to write a short essay or draw a picture, depicting what they want to be when they grow up. Click here for more on the competition.

Back to School savings

A number of top stationery items are on offer at Shoprite and Checkers stores, including school shoes retailing for as little as R59.99 and a wide range of branded merchandise. Click here to view the Shoprite Back to School catalogue and click here to view the Checkers Back to School catalogue.

PRIMARY & SECONDARY EDUCATION NEWS

WISE to host first 2015/16 Learners' Voice Programme session

The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) Learners' Voice Programme will host a residential session in Doha, Qatar, bringing together 33 young learners for an intensive ten day workshop on education leadership at the Qatar National Convention Centre.

The 2015/16 students, who began their journey at the November WISE Summit, will attend the first of two core residential sessions from 4 to 12 January 2016, which are designed to impart a foundational understanding of key concepts and evolving trends in education, as well as knowledge of pressing global education challenges.

WISE, a global initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Community Development (QF), is closely aligned to QF's mission of helping to transform Qatar into a knowledge-based economy, and through its youth-empowerment initiative it brings the voice of young people to the challenge of rethinking education.

Focus of workshops

Specialists from the Yale World Fellows Programme will hold a series of dynamic workshops in leadership and communication skills. The focus on education, leadership, and communication is designed to support the participants as they research and develop a variety of innovative projects throughout the year-long programme. The second residential session of the Learners' Voice Programme will be held in June in Madrid.

The 2015/16 learners were chosen from over 1,300 applications submitted from around the world. Learners' Voice has had a lasting impact on its participants as it has evolved to include residential sessions, online activities and the development of group projects.

A successful story is that of the Orenda Project developed during the 2013/14 Learners' Voice Programme by four students from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (GU-Q) and one student from the UK's University of Warwick.

Access to education

The Orenda Project is based on the concept of co-creation as a way to increase access to education and works directly with target populations to establish schools in a sustainable, community-driven way.

The Learners' Voice Programme was established in 2010 as an initiative of WISE with the intention of engaging the perspectives and creative energies of young people in debates around important education issues and challenges.

This year's learners, aged 18-25, collectively represent 29 countries, and will benefit from the expertise of the WISE team and global education specialists including faculty from Yale University and Babson College. The Learners' Voice Programme is supported by its partners Banco Santander through its Universities Global Division.