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02 March 2023 | Story Kekeletso Takang | Photo Supplied
EMS Entrepreneurship awards ceremony
The School of Accountancy hosted the award ceremony for attendance of the event in the Centenary Complex on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State, issuing certificates of completion to the entrepreneurs who were part of the programme in collaboration with the National Youth Development Agency.

Concerns are constantly raised in South Africa that graduates do not have the requisite practical skills when entering the world of work. Along with this, the country grapples with a high youth unemployment rate that is higher than the national average. The University of the Free State (UFS) attempts to bridge this gap. 

In partnership with the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), the UFS School of Accountancy (SOA) recently held a training programme for approximately 100 Free State youth in need of entrepreneurial upskilling. The training, aimed at developing entrepreneurial skills among the youth, took place on the Bloemfontein Campus over several sessions. 
This comes at a time when the UFS intends to maximise its societal impact with sustainable relationships through its Vision 130. 

On 22 February 2023, participants were awarded certificates of attendance at a prestigious event held on the Bloemfontein Campus.z

Addressing the participants at the event, Tumi Dithebe, Regional Manager of the Free State NYDA office, said he was impressed by the high level of commitment displayed by the participants during the training, and hoped that it would extend to how they manage their businesses. “Today, we are gathered here to acknowledge your achievement and to celebrate the partnership with the UFS.” 

Meaningful partnerships

“The School of Accountancy has had a working relationship with the SETA for Finance, Accounting, Management Consulting, and Other Financial Services (FASSET) since 2015. FASSET introduced the SOA to the NYDA, which was looking for a public institution to assist with the training of entrepreneurs,” said James Veitch, Senior Officer in the School of Accountancy. “We are in the process of negotiating a mentoring process to extend the influence of the training.” 

Entrepreneurship upskilling is a growing need in the business environment. While formal programmes offer hard skills development, training workshops such as this one provides an in-depth practical approach to support young people in mastering day-to-day challenges. 

Partnerships with various stakeholders are critical to providing young people with the skills they need to succeed in entrepreneurship. No one institution can do it alone. Initiatives should be sustainable and adaptive to the constantly evolving business environment. 

Vusi Peter, one of the participants with an information technology business, said the training has afforded him the opportunity to learn about financial management and business modelling. “Many times, we tend to neglect the management side of things when running a business. This training was a reminder to take care of the basics and to ensure that our businesses comply.”

News Archive

Education is the key to the unification of black and white masses of South Africa
2015-11-13


From left are Dr Victor Teise (Head of School of Higher Education), Dr Mafu Rakometsi (CEO of UMALUSI), and Prof Sechaba Mahlomaholo (Dean of Faculty of Education).
Photo: Valentino Ndaba

In view of the divisive nature South Africa’s (SA) schooling system during the pre-1994 period, education appears to be one of the most potent unifying mechanisms of the democratic dispensation. With the elimination of Bantu education and the subsequent gain of access to basic and higher education by the historically-disadvantaged of this country, the schooling system is said to be building and reconstructing bridges which were burnt by the apartheid administration.

This opinion was shared by Dr Mafu Rakometsi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UMALUSI – the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training. Dr Rakometsi, a University of the Free State alumnus, presented a guest lecture titled: “Educational transformation in South Africa – lessons for the future” on Thursday 5 November 2015 at the Bloemfontein Campus.

The discussion of salient matters regarding education and transformation was hosted by the Faculty of Education in collaboration with Institutional Advancement: Alumni.

According to Dr Rakometsi, the transformation of education in SA can be viewed in the same light as that of government; where the nationalist policy was succeeded by democracy. “Education promoted the agenda of ensuring that there was no integration of the South African population,” he said of the past.

“Simply put, in SA, the black person was denied, and deprived of, human rights,” he added. Nonetheless, the declaration of human rights as enshrined in our constitution, and the conviction held by lobby groups, such as the Black Sash, that the young should seek and receive education led to transformation within the education sector.

Although that transformation has been accomplished, poverty continues to hinder access to education. Approximately 80% of the black students in higher education are from poor families, meaning that their parents are unable to fund the completion of their studies. Financial exclusion then translates to social exclusion, which relegates these underprivileged students into narrow enclaves. This results in a counter-transformation situation as a consequence.

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