Tuesday, 31 January 2012

Getting down to business

Business World CEO Stacey Francis (left) with teachers in the KwaMsane township who registered for the NQF 5 management programme to improve their skills knowledge of business management

Teachers of the KwaMsane area have taken a leap forward to equip themselves with business management skills. They have enrolled for a NQF 5 business management programme with a Pietermaritzburg-based tertiary school. The teachers can then share the information with their pupils, assisting them in making more informed decisions after leaving high school. According to Stacey Francis, CEO of Business World, the majority of matriculants are not equipped with skills that make them employable. ‘Lack of proper career guidance, experience and exposure at schools
means matriculants will struggle to find work.

‘They base their career choices on limited information and are not keeping up to date with economic trends. ‘Economics should be a compulsory subject at school. ‘And often students who do have a qualification, lack experience. ‘When placed in the business world, it would take another year to apply what they have learned, with very few businesses willing to take on a graduate without experience,’ she said.

Support
Francis also challenged businesses to take on interns, aiding students in building their practical experience. The programme involves a practical curriculum, where students leave after one year with an NQF Level 5 qualification. They also get practical experience through the institution’s partnerships with recruitment agencies, whereby they complete their mandatory workplace hours and build their CVs to make them meaningful contenders in the job market. On completion of the course, those not interested in starting their own business ventures are assisted with work placement.