What s On. GetOn. Getting on with the skills development centre. Newsletter #06 November Featured in this issue: Skills Development Centre

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1 What s On Getting on with the skills development centre Newsletter #06 November 2011 Skills Development Centre Plot 119 R511, Hartbeespoort Pretoria Tel info@getonskillsdevelopment.com Featured in this issue: The Open Day Strategy HIPOS - UCS Cashier course New Management team Knowledge Sibanda The people of GetOn - Cedric the computer tutor! Students of one of the computer classes May 2011 GetOn s focus is developing unemployed people so that they may become economically active. This is much more than teaching a course. It requires restoring people s self esteem and enabling them to believe in themselves. GetOn continues to be a place in which people are encouraged to see themselves with new eyes and are challenged to use their unique gifts in contributing to their families, their communities and their country. The past year has seen some significant changes which have positively impacted the service provided to the unemployed students. These include new staff members, new management, a new course and a new strategy for recruiting students. Enjoy reading more about it in this edition. GetOn No business as usual

2 THE OPEN DAY STRATEGY We have recently launched the Open Day strategy where we invite prospective students to come to the center on a specific day to experience GetOn Skills Development Centre. This addresses the problem of GetOn being far from the communities where students live and not being well known. We inform them about the courses, the history of GetOn, GetOn s principles and ethos, teaching methods and our vision. They also get a chance to meet the tutors, hear course presentations and ask questions before they commit to a particular course. There was excitement in the air at the first Open Day in July as one of the previous students spoke about what she learned at GetOn which helped her to get a job. She went through the Basic computer skills and Office administration courses and now she is a receptionist at a local government school. The people were motivated and encouraged by her words. The staff was also encouraged to see the impact of its efforts. After the addresses, presentations and tour of the centre, people registered for courses. The Open Days have been effective in recruiting students. There were 26 at the first one and 33 at the second and everyone registered for a course. The Open Days ended with refreshments and a time for prospective students to talk to one another and the staff of GetOn. Everyone enjoyed themselves and it was exciting to see how keen people were to start their courses. We look forward to many more successful Open Days and getting to the point where there are waiting lists for all the courses. Benedict Makoeya

3 HIPOS - UCS Cashier course After months and months of planning it has arrived! On Monday 19thSeptember 2011 GetOn Skills Development Centre together with UCS launched the HIPOS CASHIERS COURSE. We are very excited about this wonderful opportunity and would like to thank UCS for their much appreciated donation of 10 PC s and desks. We would also like to thank the UCS technical team for spending the day at GetOn, testing all the PC s to ensure that there are no problems along the way, this all at no cost to us! THANK YOU UCS. I spent a few days with UCS at their Braamfontein office and also conducted a field visit to Engen in Midrand. These experiences were the perfect opportunity to see what goes on behind the scenes and the importance of every employee s role in the company. It also brought home the significance of the service providers and their commitment to remain on site until all minor glitches are sorted out. Needless to say, all went well and I left there content and proud to be the one who will be facilitating the HIPOS UCS Course. This course really impressed me for many reasons, it is not based purely on being a cashier but it teaches the learners what Wholesale & Retail business entails. It also teaches them about the different departments in the company and the way they work (how many cashiers really understand their company structures?). Most significantly it teaches them the utmost importance of the Cashier, their appearance, their attitude, handling customer complaints, that shrinkage could cause them the loss of their jobs and the consequences of being aware of what is going on around them. The above are all critical to training and our students will go away after the course seeing themselves as a very crucial part of a company and not just a Cashier. Another strong point on this specific course is that it was developed for Engen Petrol Stations and offers a lot more than the normal retail PoS (Point of Sale). It also handles forecourt (petrol purchases) and debtors & creditors which is not Office Administration graduates usually done by cashiers in the normal retail industry. More exciting news is that UCS has committed to assisting with placements of our graduates and I am confident that we are going to make a real difference in the lives of our students, and that they and their families current situations will change for the better. Watch this space for more news on POS Caren van Niekerk New management team On 22 June Learn to Earn (LtE) entered into a two year agreement to manage GetOn. GetOn has been an associate of LtE since The aims of this include: Implementing strategies that will support the mission of developing unemployed Knowledge Sibanda (2010 Bake for Profit graduate) Knowledge worked for a company which did window tinting; due to ill health he lost the job. He stays in an informal settlement called Thabo Mbeki Village where he met people from Professional Aviation who were giving out food parcels. They referred him to GetOn and he registered for the Bake for Profit course. The course teaches students baking and business skills and requires them to sell their products people with the values and skills needed to be employed or start their own business. Implementing policies and procedures that create an effective organisation. Developing the staff and recruiting staff in order to deliver a professional service. Increasing the GetOn network of partners to access funding and donations, access employment for graduates and enable businesses and other organisations to play a role in developing unemployed people. Strengthening the Operations Board by getting new members with the necessary expertise. One of the LtE team of Roché van Wyk, Susan Wishart and Paul Sturrock has been at the centre each week. It has been valuable for them to gain a good understanding of GetOn through the hands on management. The intention is to appoint a manager early in 2012 and for LtE to mentor that person. while doing the course. He started selling his products in his village. A neighbor, who worked for an Engen garage, spotted him and later recommended him when Engen was looking for a baker for one of their convenience stores. He was successful in getting the job and is now employed three days a week in the bakery. This job has enabled Knowledge to start other businesses. He has opened a business, run by his Some of the achievements to date have been: Starting the Point of Sale course Increasing the number of course registrations Developing partnerships with businesses Raising the standards expected of staff There have been a number of challenges related to the remoteness of the centre and the transport provided to students by GetOn s bus. These have required a lot of time and money to address. Ways of minimizing these risks are being explored. Managing a centre in a rural setting has provided some other interesting challenges. These have included dealing with big snakes, burning fire breaks, fixing borehole pumps and managing without electricity for five days due to the cables being stolen. In all of this the staff have risen to the challenge. wife, providing a public telephone service to his community. He has also bought a coal stove, since there is no electricity in his village, and next month he plans to start a baking business from home. Knowledge s success is an example of how partnerships and networks can create opportunities for unemployed people to develop and become economically active. Knowledge Sibanda working

4 The People Of Geton Cedrick The Computer Tutor! Cedrick Maila The GetOn family has welcomed me with happy smiles and I feel part of this growing centre for skills development. What motivates me and makes me love my job is the happiness I see from new learners. It encourages me that more and more people wish to come and learn here because they have been informed by previous learners of how interesting computers can be! When GetOn decided to introduce computer skills programmes in 2011 as part of its course offerings, the search started for a suitable trainer. With his background of fourteen years of IT training in the transport sector and his passion for people, Cedrick Maila was considered the right person to join the team and commenced with GetOn Skills Development on the 24 January Cedrick grew up in Polokwane and became involved in training on discovering a talent for imparting skills to others when attending some training himself. This 40 year old father of three lives in Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg. He has 3 children two boys aged 12 and 10 and a daughter of 7. He enjoys training so much that he has been involved with ABET training in the evenings although this is not currently possible because of his travelling arrangements. He is actively involved in his Church and is a staunch supporter of Moroko Swallows and the Blue Bulls! Cedrick is grateful to GetOn for giving him the opportunity to impact others through providing them with new skills. Cedrick Maila/ Susan Wishart September 2011

5 Verder vooruit GetOn gaat vooruit. Soms met grote stappen, soms een klein stapje terug. Bijvoorbeeld wanneer een computerlokaal op een ochtend blijkt te zijn leeggehaald door inbrekers. Een enorme tegenslag voor onze vaak vol geplande computerclasses en het gevoel van veiligheid bij onze studenten en medewerkers. Maar dit valt weg tegen de successen die we boeken; de trotse studenten die onder toeziend oog van trotse familie hun certificaten in ontvangst nemen. En hun verhalen en verwondering over hun eigen kunnen! Dromen visualiseren Sybrigje Westerhof Doelen Tijdens het laatste werkbezoek aan het Skills Development Centre (SDC) voelde ik duidelijk de groeiende volwassenheid. Onze cursussen krijgen meer en meer bekendheid en lokaal raken we steeds beter ingebed. Belangrijk en noodzakelijk, want de uitdagingen voor de komende periode zijn groot. Zo willen we nog meer studenten toegang kunnen geven tot onze cursussen en voorwaarden scheppen voor betaald werk. Dit betekent drempels verlagen (vervoer, goede informatie), maar ook nog betere contacten met de markt. Zoals samenwerking met branches waarin behoefte is aan geschoolde krachten. Daarnaast is ook om andere redenen een focus op capaciteitsvergroting; met dezelfde faciliteiten en kosten meer mensen kunnen helpen betekent ook een hoger rendement. Een tweede doel en aandachtsgebied is de zelfredzaamheid van het centrum. Binnen enkele jaren moet het Centre zelf kunnen zorgen voor een groot deel van de benodigde middelen. Door eigen inkomsten eventueel aangevuld met lokaal verworven fondsen. Board of Trustees. V.l.n.r.: Sybrigje, Derrick, Jan en Pippa. Niet op de foto: Daniël. Managementwijziging Met de managementwijziging die in juni heeft plaats gevonden, verwachten we daarin op korte termijn grote stappen te kunnen zetten. Met Learn to Earn - een organisatie die in Zuid Afrika reeds op een succesvolle manier een aantal centra heeft opgezet en waarmee we al enige jaren samenwerken en kennis uitwisselen - zijn afspraken gemaakt omtrent een interim management. Naast raad die we al langere tijd van hen ontvingen, gaan zij nu voor een bepaalde tijd met daad een aantal zaken op poten zetten op het GetOn SDC. Met hun ervaring en expertise verwachten we een grote impuls te geven aan de door ons gestelde doelen. Dromen Naast de toekomstdromen over waar we naar toe gaan met het Centre, werd ik ook deelgenoot van de dromen van onze studenten. Caren van Niekerk vertelde over haar lessen. Voor zij aan de slag gaat met een nieuwe groep neemt ze tijd voor het leggen van een basis van vertrouwen en respect. Caren vertelde: Om samen te kunnen bouwen moet je van elkaar weten waar je vandaan komt en wat je drijft. Dat doe ik door ook zelf open te zijn over mezelf en daarmee de studenten het gevoel te geven dat hun verhaal veilig is bij mij. Vervolgens praten we over hun droom, hun doelen. We praten over wat ze denken nodig te hebben om deze doelen te bereiken en we gaan ze ook visualiseren. Ik moedig hen aan om deze droom thuis op te hangen. Als herinnering aan hun doel, maar ook om te delen met hun omgeving. Wanneer je echt wil, ga je het bereiken! Benoem het en maak een plan! Caren haar passie om de studenten te laten groeien en verder te helpen spat er letterlijk vanaf wanneer ze verder vertelt over de resultaten van aandacht, waardering en de handvaten om iets te doen! Net als de studenten blijven wij ook vasthouden aan onze dromen en doelen. Zelfs wanneer je plotseling iemand moet missen, zoals afgelopen jaar Sytske Bijpost. Sytske was een van de oprichters en inspirators van GetOn en overleed eind 2010 onverwacht en in de kracht van haar leven. Haar dromen blijven een voortdurende inspiratiebron. Om deze te kunnen borgen, maar ook om een brug te behouden naar het bestuur van de Nederlandse Stichting, ben ik zelf afgelopen jaar toegetreden tot de Zuid Afrikaanse Board of Trustees van de GetOn Foundation. Waar ik jarenlang al betrokken was bij de GetOn organisatie heb ik hierin nu ook in deze vorm mijn plaats in genomen. De dag van vandaag Nog even en dan breekt in Zuid Afrika de zomer aan. Ons team gaat zich alvast voorbereiden op een nieuw seizoen. Met meer studenten en meer praktische cursussen. Zoals de nieuwe opleiding voor cassier, die wordt opgezet in samenwerking met softwareleverancier UCS die deze cursus ontwikkelde voor Engen, een locale keten van tankstations. Computer, Office Administration en Baking zijn een groot succes en mits we voldoende financiele middelen bijeen kunnen brengen, hopen we ook de opleiding Techniek en (Food)gardening gestalte te kunnen geven. Met hulp van uw donaties! De hulp van onze donoren zijn een belangrijke factor in dit succes. Zonder hen werd en wordt dit niet mogelijk! Als volger en participant van GetOn kunt u wat ons betreft niet nauw genoeg betrokken zijn. Volg ons op onze website. Maar bellen mag ook! Om even te weten hoe het er voor staat, of om mee te genieten van de kleine dagelijkse successen of perikelen die een onderneming als het SDC met zich meebrengt. Sybrigje Westerhof Bestuurslid Stichting GetOn sybrigje@stichtinggeton.nl /