The Tarsus Technology Group has made it possible for a selected team of young individuals to attend a 12-month Technical Support Learnership programme, consisting of three months of theory and nine months of practical experience within real-world companies.
The course offers an NQF Level 4 qualification, and will prepare the learners for further study in the IT field, and/or for jobs as technical support representatives.
Tarsus, in partnership with IT educator Torque IT and MICT SETA, is providing these young individuals with an opportunity to better themselves that they might otherwise not have had due to circumstances outside their control.
Aims
The aim of the learnership is twofold: to impart skills that will carry the youngsters into IT-related fields like technical support and IT administration, and as part of Tarsus’s social responsibilities, which include addressing South Africa’s unemployment rate through appropriate skills development initiatives.
Says Adel Goussard, Organisational Effectiveness Specialist (HR) at Tarsus, “Tarsus Technology Group, as a responsible organisation, recognises our role in the participation of skills development and the alleviation of unemployment in South Africa. One of the ways in which we aim to curb unemployment, is not only to become an employer of choice, but also to recognise the importance of creating development opportunities in critical and scarce skills for our youth.”
Learners Assemble
On Wednesday, December 6th, the 2017/2018 learners assembled at Torque IT headquarters in Rivonia, Johannesburg, where they were officially welcomed to the programme. The message conveyed by MICT SETA, Torque IT and Tarsus was that the organisations really believe in the learners, are only too happy to be able to provide the opportunity, and are rooting for all present to succeed.
As part of the programme, each learner will receive a monthly stipend, specifically for transport. Learners were warned by Torque IT’s feisty programme mananger, Lesego Motshwane, not to spend that money on anything else.
Upliftment & Gratitude
The programme will uplift over 50 learners, including around 15 of them living with a disability. When asked if anyone present would like to say a few words of thanks, several of the learners jumped enthusiastically up from their seats to express their deep gratitude for the chance to prove themselves. Many of them cited a world that sometimes seems not to care about their age group, saying how touched they were by Tarsus’s efforts on their behalf.
One of the learners, Bandile Bendane, was washing cars in the Tarsus parking lot until this opportunity came along. Talking to me after the event, he was grinning from ear to ear, saying how grateful he was for the chance to better himself, and how pleased he was not to be washing cars anymore.
Several other attendees expressed similar sentiments, saying how happy they are about how this opportunity will change their lives, and how hopeful they feel about the future now that they’re not just going to be sitting at home, unsure of their next move in life.
The journey forward
There are currently two groups going through the programme; the first, consisting of 15 learners, started in October 2017, and the second, made up of 36 learners, started in early November 2017.
Last year saw 49 learners go through the Technical Support and System support programmes, with Tarsus, MICT SETA and Torque IT looking to launch another one in February 2018.
The programme is open to any eligible learners; if you know someone who you think would be interested, who’s between the ages of 18 and 26, and has a Matric certificate, tell them to contact Torque IT directly to see if there’s space on any upcoming learnerships.
