Online courses to boost entrepreneurs’ skills
THE BARN Khayelitsha – the Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative’s (CiTi) incubator and hub for innovators and entrepreneurs in the Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain Development Corridor – has announced its collaboration with GetSmarter, an online education provider.
According to Rob Paddock of GetSmarter, the partnership will promote entrepreneurship in the Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain area of Cape Town.
Top achievers graduating out of Barn Khayelitsha business development programmes will be given the opportunity to further their studies and add to their education by means of a UCT short course certificate done through GetSmarter.
GetSmarter is sponsoring 20 UCT short courses to the value of R200 000 for top students graduating out of The Barn Khayelitsha.
“We are excited to offer these courses to students who have worked hard to achieve the best results for themselves and their future,” says Paddock.
“We hugely admire the work CiTi is doing and look forward to seeing this partnership help effect change and drive entrepreneurship in a community that really needs it.”
GetSmarter will be offering another crucial element of support to students. With the GetSmarter online learning model, students will have access to proactive support from a dedicated coach for the entire duration of their course.
This dedicated coaching service makes an important contribution to GetSmarter’s 94 percent completion rate – which is signif- icantly higher than other online institutions.
The Barn Khayelitsha will also provide support by giving students access to their computer labs, internet facilities and workspace in Khayelitsha.
“CapaCiTi, representing innovation and technology in the Western Cape, values the educational opportunities presented to students through advances in technology,” says Alethea Hagemann, CapaCiTi skills development leader at CiTi.
“GetSmarter has carved out a stellar pioneering path and we believe that with our successful track record in preparing individuals to be work ready, the strengths of both organisations can be leveraged to address the country’s skills shortage and unemployment rates.”
This is not CiTi’s first partnership with UCT. The university and CapaCiTi have worked together since 2011 to present the Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Systems Analysis. The suc- cessful collaboration between CapaCiTi and the UCT Information Systems Department has resulted in 200 previously unemployed people being provided with world-class business and systems analysis training.
Of these graduates, 98 percent are now employed, proving how effective this collaboration between the institutions is.
“Through the UCT-CapaCiTi collaboration, we have been able to ensure that previously unemployed youths receive world-class UCT tuition and also land topnotch jobs.
“As an academic institution, it is satisfying to see how seamlessly graduates from this programme transition into the workplace.
“This speaks to the quality of the training they receive, as well as the support, mentorship and access to recruitment networks that this model unlocks,” says Dr Sumarie Roodt, senior lecturer in the Department of Information Systems at UCT.
CiTi, through their hub in Khayelitsha, aim to close the skills gap faced by entrepreneurs and uplift the community by offering tech solutions to entrepreneurs whose businesses would hugely benefit from skills learnt during their programmes at The Barn.
The top 20 students graduating out of The Barn Khayelitsha will be awarded bursaries for a GetSmarter course in January. The courses offered to students have been carefully selected to ensure optimal business success for the student awarded the bursary.
“I believe that this collaboration between GetSmarter, UCT and CiTi, geared at fostering local innovation in our community, will successfully accelerate these entrepreneurs into becoming sustainable businesses.
“It also extends our long-running relationship with UCT,” says Ian Merrington, CiTi’s chief executive.
For more information, visit www.getsmarter.co.za.