{"id":10415,"date":"2021-12-09T15:57:07","date_gmt":"2021-12-09T15:57:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ee.yelkdev.site\/?p=10415"},"modified":"2023-09-21T23:52:41","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T22:52:41","slug":"equal-experts-sponsors-learnerships-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.equalexperts.com\/blog\/ee-life\/equal-experts-sponsors-learnerships-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Equal Experts sponsors learnerships in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article is about how Equal Experts is helping to fill a critical skills gap in South Africa\u2019s more disadvantaged employment market.<\/p>\n

Equal Experts has a habit of investing in its people. After all, finding good talent is an art, so when we find someone who really fits with what we do, we want to hang onto them! And the best way to do that is to invest in their development.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At Equal Experts South Africa, we want to take our corporate social responsibility a step further, by investing in individuals at a grass roots level. South Africa is still a country of deep-seated inequalities, and we believe that taking measures to address that is the right thing for local businesses to do. Like many other companies in South Africa, Equal Experts SA wants to invest in technical talent that will help bridge the skills gap in the country. That\u2019s why <\/span>EE sponsors learnership programmes<\/b> for young people from historically disadvantaged backgrounds in South Africa. These are people who could be the future of technology development not just at EE but in the industry as a whole, and it\u2019s exciting to play a part in their development.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How we chose our learnership partner<\/h3>\n

Youth unemployment is one of the biggest social problems in South Africa, so in 2020 EE paid for 5 young people to participate in a 12 month <\/span>EESA<\/b> (Entrepreneurship and Empowerment South Africa) learnership programme with post-high school education provider <\/span>Umuzi<\/b>. <\/span>Umuzi<\/span><\/a> has been developing their learnership programme since 2014, as an alternative to higher education. They offer \u201ca 12 month, paid training programme, that’s demand-driven, project based, Agile, and human-centred.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you know Equal Experts, you\u2019ll know that this totally speaks to us and the way we operate. We wanted our learnership partner to be able to fully support remote learning throughout the Covid pandemic, and Umuzi already had the right measures in place to support remote learning.\u00a0 Added to this, over 80% of Umuzi\u2019s graduates go on to secure high value jobs with top employers, not just because the quality of teaching is excellent, but also because the level of pastoral support they are able to offer their students makes it much more likely they will succeed. All this made it a very easy decision for us – this was definitely something EE wanted to be involved with!<\/span><\/p>\n

How the Equal Experts\/Umuzi learnership works<\/h3>\n

Starting in September 2020 we sponsored 5 Web Developer learners to complete a 12 month learnership, including 3 months work experience in local organisations. Here\u2019s what the students progress through:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • 2-week bootcamp covering up to level 1 of coding, github, and an initial coderbytes assessment<\/span><\/li>\n
  • 1-week design thinking sprint introducing programmes like Figma<\/span><\/li>\n
  • 1-week induction where learners get to know Umuzi processes and ways of working<\/span><\/li>\n
  • 8 months to complete the National Certificate in Information Technology (system development) and technical upskilling on Tilde.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Above all, this is a very practical programme, geared towards the skill sets needed to fulfil critical employment gaps in South Africa. Learners are supported by Umuzi throughout the programme with regular assessments to check their understanding, and to indicate where they might need more help. Umuzi graduates are so used to testing by the time they finish that they\u2019re unfazed by the standard recruitment tests that happen when they start applying for jobs.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Where are Equal Experts\u2019 learners now?<\/h3>\n

    After 9 months of formal training, our learnership students entered work experience, with opportunities for growth within Umuzi itself, and outside the organisation. Again, Umuzi continued to support students – especially those who experienced difficulties\u00a0 – with extra mentoring to ensure they were able to complete their learnerships.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Here\u2019s what some of our graduates have to say about their time with Umuzi:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cI\u2019m very pleased to mention that my goals won\u2019t just be a fantasy anymore, it is something I have been able to chase faster thanks to Equal Experts. I\u2019d like to immensely thank Equal Experts South Africa for seeing my potential and making a positive change in my life and studies, their kindness has gone a long way in shaping a more positive future for me and my family.\u201d <\/span><\/i>Manelisi Madini<\/b><\/p>\n

    \u201cAs someone who has been in tertiary institutions and hated it, Equal Expert\u2019s sponsorship for me to study at Umuzi was huge. It came at a time when I was lost and had nothing going my way. I\u2019m forever grateful because not only did I learn so much in a short period of time, I fell in love with learning again, which is something I never thought I would say.\u201d <\/span><\/i>Ngoako Ramokgoba<\/b><\/p>\n

    What next for Equal Experts\u2019 learnership programme?<\/h3>\n

    As you can imagine, this sponsorship is an incredibly gratifying partnership for Equal Experts. The opportunity to contribute so positively to young peoples\u2019 lives, and to the skills gap in the country, has caused a buzz amongst our consultants, which is why they\u2019re keen to get even more involved with learnerships going forward.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    For 2021\/22 we have more than doubled the learnerships Equal Experts sponsor, with 12 students already on the new programme. We will be hosting meet-and-greets where learners get to talk with EE consultants (eg. business analysts, quality engineers) to find out more about possible career paths, and explore what they might best be suited to after graduation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    We\u2019re so proud of our learners and delighted to see how far they have come!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Tackling youth unemployment in South Africa: how Equal Experts is filling a skills gap through Web developer learnership programmes for disadvantaged students. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[227,228],"location":[],"class_list":["post-10415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ee-life","tag-corporate-responsibility","tag-learnership-programme"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEqual Experts sponsors learnerships in South Africa | Equal Experts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How Equal Experts supports students from disadvantaged backgrounds in South Africa by sponsoring them through a learnership programme in Web development\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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