South Africa’s Dept. of Correctional Services Get Unemployed Youth into Learnership Programme

South Africa’s Department of Correctional Services announced that in 2012 the Learnership Programme has helped 3,000 unemployed youths get employment via learnership and internship programs.

The programme

The Learnership Programme is a vocational and technical programme, which teaches in a classroom environment with an on-the-job internship. This merger of theory and practice has jump-started careers for these formerly unemployable youth. The companies which offer learnership experience usually absorb the interns after their qualifications.

In a statement released by the Department, the latest monthly figures showed that 654 learners were absorbed into the workforce with permanent job positions. Another 1,005 learners had also gone through the Public Service Internship Programme where they were exposed to actual work leading to better job prospects.

It also mentioned that in August 2012, 1,012 learners completed their Learnership Programme, of which 1,006 were given contractual jobs pending their absorption to available permanent posts.

The Correctional Services officials also stated that other inmates were also undergoing rehabilitation and learning to read, study, and work. Inmates have been undergoing skills training in baking, bricklaying and carpentry. Upon release from the correctional facilities, the inmates will have a skill and a diploma.

The Head of the Department, Correctional Services Minister Sibusiso Ndebele said that the Learnership Programme has sent 1,597 youths through the various phases of theoretical and practical training. The trainees have spent one year in various aspects of the program, which include attendance at Kroonstad and Zonderwater Training Colleges and then at other correctional centers around South Africa.

Minister Ndebele said that the Learnership Programme is in line with the country’s National Skills Development Programme aimed at generating employable skills to fight poverty and increase employment. He also said that education is a top priority of the government, and that the youth will have to continue with nation building towards a prosperous country.

Unit standards

A learnership is like an apprentice, in that the learner studies to obtain a qualification while working. It is different from an apprenticeship with the amount of course work in the classroom, which provides for the theoretical basis of the job. A learnership programme provides for the three unit standards:

➢ Fundamental units, or the basic education required which includes literacy, communication skills and basic mathematical skills.
➢ Core units, which center around a competency for the qualification. Each core unit have their own electives, which teach specific skills sets.
➢ Elective units, which are a range of skills specific to a certain aspect of the skill.

The difference between a qualification and a learnership is that the former is theory-based university education while the latter is an actual work based method of unit standard qualification.

South African companies can run learnership programmes where their employees can develop their careers. The companies can have a training service provider to run the learnership programme. It there is a large enough class the provider can schedule the programme within company premises. Otherwise, the learners would have to go to the training service provider to attend the program.

Alternatively, for those who are unemployed, a training service provider can run a learnership and can assist the learner in finding a job.