Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa January/February 2015 | Page 9

EDUCATION TO EMPLOYMENT NPO PARTNERS WITH INDUSTRY TO HELP LEARNERS STRIVE FOR GOLD Having successfully helped dozens of construction and related industry firms in the Western Cape employ young graduates from previously disadvantaged communities with technical qualifications, NPO Go for Gold is expanding its education to employment programme to Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth in 2015. Established in 1999 through collaboration between a handful of construction companies and the Western Cape Department of Education, Go for Gold now partners with more than 15 companies and has successfully helped over 400 learners from disadvantaged schools in Cape Town. This month they will admit their first cohort of 30 learners to their Johannesburg campus and will start working in Port Elizabeth later this year. With funding provided by partner companies through their Skills Development and/or Socio Economic Development budgets, Go for Gold’s holistic four-phase programme provides selected learners with academic and life-skill support from high school through to tertiary education News Watch and onto secure employment as a technically qualified graduate. “Most of our students grow up in poverty-stricken communities where strong role models are sorely lacking, so they need constant mentoring as well as academic support in order for them to believe that their future can be different to that which they were born into,” she says. As a result there is growing demand from partner companies for Go for Gold students, in favour of others who have not gone through the academic and life-skill support programme. “By the time they graduate, our students are well prepared for a career in the Built Environment and companies who employ them report higher retention rates,” says Bruyns. A Phased Approach In Phase 1 of the programme, Go for Gold supports Grade 11 and 12 high school learners from under-resourced schools, who show an aptitude for Maths and Science and provides them with after-school and Saturday morning academic tuition while simultaneously developing the learner’s social and emotional education, during regular LifeSkills sessions. On average 80% of Go for Gold Phase 1 learners matriculate with a Bachelor pass rate, enabling them to study at University. But before they enter an under-graduate programme, Go for Gold moves the students into Phase 2 of the programme: an internship year where they are employed by a sponsoring company to experience the industry and help make informed career choices. “The internship year is hugely valuable as it allows students to gain first-hand experience of the various professions involved in the Built Industry and other related sectors,” says Bruyns. “It is also strongly supported by our industry partners, who get a chance to assess the students’ future employability.” Once the students complete their internship year they start their Phase 3 tertiary academic studies, with most fully sponsored by the same company who employed them during their internship year. Students have the freedom to choose their course of studies, although civil engineering and quantity surveying are among the most popular choices. Boasting a very low under-graduate dropout rate, 80% of Go for Gold students graduate in the minimum period and move immediately from University to guaranteed employment with their sponsoring company (Phase 4). “It’s a win for both parties. Our partner companies are able to earn SED and Skills Development B-BBEE points through their investment in Go for Gold and once the student qualifies, secure qualified graduates from disadvantaged communities. Students have the security of employment and they repay this by being incredibly loyal to their sponsoring company,” says Bruyns. For more information on Go for Gold and how to become a partner company, visit www.goforgold.org.za or contact them at 021 703 0395 or email: [email protected] 9