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14 August 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Valentino Ndaba
Kovsies Care
Nelson Mandela once said: “No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated.”
To thrive in the future, employees need a skill set and mindset that constantly adapts to the fast rate of change. In line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the University of the Free State (UFS) is the first higher education institution to introduce online adult learning.

Digitised learning

Eva Stinani is one of 17 staff members who is currently enrolled for the Adult-Based Education and Training (ABET) Programme through the Department of Human Resources (HR). For Stinani, the programme is gearing her up for better career prospects. “I have come to realise that obtaining a school qualification is important as this will enable me to improve my performance in my work.”

A further 29 staff members are enrolled for the Amended Senior Certificate (ASC). Since its introduction at UFS late last year, the most popular subject stream in the certificate is Business Studies. According to Juanita Burjins, Head: Leadership & Development Division (HR), this “prepares learners to think like business and management-oriented individuals”.

All lessons are conducted online in a computer lab on the Bloemfontein Campus. Plans are under way to roll out these programmes to the South and Qwaqwa campuses. The Leadership and Development Division helps learners to register with the Independent Exam Board (IEB) and uMalusi.

Enhancing livelihoods

The Integrated Transformation Plan (ITP) speaks to a staff culture punctuated with high performance and impartiality across the board. According to the ITP, “the future will be “one of excellence and diversity”.

Burjins’s team envisions “maximising the potential of the staff through the acquisition of knowledge and skills, therefore encouraging them to work productively and competitively in order to achieve an improving quality of life”.

Building bridges and breaking barriers

The online adult learning programme provides staff members with the opportunity to enter higher education institutions and become gainfully employed in the world of work.

Nelson Mandela once said: “No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated.” Echoing this sentiment, Kovsies is making strides towards developing the country, one citizen at a time.


News Archive

University tips its hat to final-year students
2013-09-13

 
From the left: Lauren Marais, Werner Landman, Herloise Jordaan and Louis Rossouw (PwC).
13 September 2013

The Alumni Office at the University of the Free State (UFS), in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), held its first Alumni Evening for final-year students.

The students received valuable advice from various speakers during the event. Werner Landman – also a UFS graduate – highlighted the differences in approach between the current and previous generations. Landman explained that Generation Y students have greater influence and are extensively connected socially as they enter the work environment. “You are people who will work to live, unlike us, Generation X, who live to work,” he said. With their degrees – some already busy with their post-graduate studies – they are more likely to be appointed in professions which will allow them to live better, he added.

Heloise Jordaan, former 2008/9 SRC president, who holds three degrees from Kovsies to her name, also addressed the final-years. She currently holds the position of brand manager at Urban Hotels, although she only started working recently. Through sharing her personal work experiences, she gave the audience a glimpse into the workplace."You guys need to realise that when you step into the working sphere, you need to be open minded and also work to the best of your abilities,” Jordaan encouraged.

The evening was concluded on a high note with a prize-giving. Pieter du Toit, UFS Alumni Chair, was in charge of handing over the awards. Residences were compared to find which ones generated the most residing final-year and postgraduate students. House Tswelopele and Soetdoring clinched the honours and walked away with R2 000 each for their house.

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