The Champions Transformation Academy launched their BTEC Level 3 vocational programme during a gala dinner that was hosted by the academy at Schoemansdal Environmental Education Centre (EEC) last Friday.
This extended diploma course, offered by well-established company Pearson, offers a comprehensive vocational programme for Grade 11 and 12 students in the 16-to-19 age group who either wish to pursue a career via higher education to access graduate entry or through direct employment in the work sector.
The academy, in conjunction with the local circuit office of the Department of Education, will select 20 students to take part in the programme. These students will all have to attend an orientation camp from 11 to 14 July at Schoemansdal EEC for the final evaluation and selection of the students to be registered at the academy next year.
In Vhembe District, this is the first of its kind. The circuit manager of Soutpansberg East, Mr Falaza Baloyi, welcomed the launch. "All along the education system has been chasing up for certificates, ignoring the skills part, and as a result we have many certificated learners who are not working because they do not have the skills."
Baloyi said that they would choose learners who showed an ability to cope with the skills training programme academically.
According to Mr Graham Temlett, national coordinator of the Pearson BTEC Level 3, most education systems in the world prepare students academically, yet these learners have no practical skills using their hands. "BTEC helps learners to choose a career in their natural abilities. They are then educated practically, partnering with other stakeholders like the Department of Education, business fraternity and community leaders," he said.
Ms Sonja Prinsloo, the principal of the academy, encouraged the community and businesspeople to work together for this programme to be a success. "We all need solutions. If we all sit at the table together and combine what we have, we can make a difference."
Prinsloo said they were currently focusing on learners from Madombidzha, Vele and areas close to Louis Trichardt town.