Triple E Training helped to rescue an important government initiative that creates many jobs and skills development opportunities for the country’s unemployed youth.
Since 2004, this initiative has provided 9,4-million young adults with an opportunity to earn a livelihood; gain some work experience; and learn useable skills, even if these jobs are short-term in nature.
As part of the initiative, many of these individuals also have an opportunity to complete adult literacy and numeracy training. This is so that they can improve their chances of securing long-term and stable work. Bear in mind that most of the young adults who participate in the programme have not completed basic education. The situation is so dire that many of these individuals have to start the programme at AET level 1 and 2.
Our client was, therefore, shocked to learn that the many individuals recruited into the programme would not be allowed to write their adult education and training (AET) level 4 exams because the company that facilitated AET was not accredited by Umalusi Council. This while many learners were also still working towards a formal General Education and Training Certificate in AET. Having already invested heavily into training, a practical solution had to be found to get the programme back on track as soon as possible. The programme had to look no further than Triple E Training.
Millions of South African adults are functionally illiterate
About 4-million South African adults are functionally illiterate. As in many other countries, illiteracy levels in South Africa are higher for women than men. This prevents them from participating fully in the economy, their communities and society at large, hence the strong focus of this particular programme on recruiting females from poor communities where functional illiteracy is very high.
Meanwhile, very high functional illiteracy is holding South Africa back. It is obvious that the higher the number of citizens who have completed school, the better a country’s global competitiveness. It should come as no surprise then that we rank among the lowest of all countries in terms of global competitiveness. Our competitiveness is even significantly lower than other BRICS countries.
Therefore, accredited AET programmes have never been more important. Solving high levels of illiteracy requires a determined effort by both the private and public sectors. This is considering the many limitations of public sector Community Education and Training facilities. If it were not for private sector AET, many young adults would be deprived another chance to complete their basic education. This is a basic human right that is protected by the South African Constitution and one of the Millenium Sustainable Development Goals.
Rebooting skills development and training
It was very important that we did not discount the many hours of training that had already been undertaken by our client. Therefore, we decided to use the recognition of prior learning (RPL) process to get the nine groups, each consisting of about 240 learners, through their AET levels. Using the RPL process, we could gather evidence of prior learning and assess this against specific learning outcomes or competencies. We were then able to determine the level of credit or recognition that should be awarded to learners. If skills gaps were identified, we addressed them promptly.
Based on the success of our solution, we were appointed as the preferred AET provider for this programme.
We are very proud to be associated with an initiative that is making such a large impact on high illiteracy. This year, alone, more than 1 000 young individuals progressed through our programme, an impressive feat that entailed facilitating full-time classes for groups of up to 16 learners at a time.
Learn more about Triple E Training and how we are helping government address high functional illiteracy. www.eee.co.za