We live in an environment plagued with a legacy of third world poverty and for millions of people, a daily way of life. There is a constant feeling of being torn between a modern society and with another, quite primitive. We are constantly challenged as human beings as to what it is, that we can do to try dent the enormous poverty barrier we are faced with in South Africa. A legacy of apartheid days that our current business generation, needs to take equal responsibility for.
“I believe it starts with each and every individual to take on some form of community responsibility and to develop an ideal to do good or improve our social environment.” says Richard Rayne, Managing Director, On-Site Training. “This does not mean only a financial contribution, but also providing expertise that most communities may not have access to. Businesses making social investments is a collective effort between business and communities providing the platform for a hand-up not a hand-out.”
Far beyond the code requirements of BEE, On-Site Training has since its inception, instilled a social upliftment belief within its business as a core value. “The projects undertaken by On-Site Training are all focused on education and although may be biased to its offering, we believe is a fundamental requirement in order to alleviate poverty and uplift communities”, comments Rayne.
On-Site Training is currently committed to two education initiatives that are making a direct impact to the lives of its recipients.
CIDA ICT Academy
The CIDA ICT Academy was formed by a consortium of partners, lead by IT services company T-Systems. The intention of the academy was to allow CIDA students to choose a career in IT with the ability to graduate with their BBA degree as well as a range of internationally recognised, market required, vendor certifications. Students enter the academy in their second BBA year, where they attend lectures on a Friday afternoon and a Saturday. Students complete the first year of study with an International Computers Drivers Licence (ICDL), CompTIA A+ and CompTIA Network+ certification. The first year curriculum is aligned to a leanership, funded by the ISETT SETA. On-Site Training provides qualified lectures to the first year stream and ensures that students achieve the required certifications and are prepared to proceed to the second year. Students then have the choice of 3 career options being Cisco, SAP and SUN certification, completed over the following two years. In addition, students are placed at various companies to gain experiential and practical experience. They have the opportunity to implement what they have been taught during their training.
On-Site Training has been committed to the ICT academy since its inception in 2003 and plays a fundamental role in ensuring students are provided with practical skills that will later on form the key foundation to their careers in the IT job market. On-Site Training hosted two students for work place rotation and have developed a keen interest in considering becoming IT trainers on completion of their studies.
Visit the CIDA ICT Academy website @ www.cidaictacademy.co.za.
Twenty30
Twenty30 aims to develop and grow the concept of Skills Volunteerism in SA, bridging cultural divides to solve first order socio-economic challenges. To this end, Twenty30 facilitates ways in which business professionals can volunteer meaningfully by using their own skills in institutions requiring them. Twenty30 has a specific focus on schools based in rural or disadvantaged areas, providing a holistic outlook on how their network of volunteers can improve the general running of the school to ensure a greater impact on its learners.
A Department of Education initiative called GautengOnline, has provided state-of-the-art computer classroom facilities to Gauteng based public schools. Unfortunately a lot of these facilities and resources at the schools have never been used. On-Site Training has played a role in providing computer training on various Microsoft Office and Windows products to 100 teachers from 10 schools. Teachers will be equipped with skills that will empower them with the ability to automate their daily responsibilities. The spin-off of empowering these teachers with such skills will not only ensure the teachers growth but also the spin-off of such skills to an estimated 8000 leaners.
On-Site Training will continue to empower underprivileged communities and individuals with the skills to be able to join the modern South African economy. By doing so we believe we are directly impacting the lives of so many people that we hope in turn will contribute to the growth of the South African nation.
Visit the Twenty30 website @ www.twenty30.co.za.
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