Department of Labour Learnership Opportunities 2016-2017

Introduction to The Department of Labour Learnerships 2016-2017

Most South Africans have heard aboutDepartment of Labour Learnerships or Learnership Programmes. What exactly is a Learnership? Who does it benefit, how does it work? Who qualifies for, and how does one get access to, available learnerships at Department of Labour?

South Africa has a very high unemployment rate, yet at the same time it has a shortage of qualified people to fill the many Department of Labour learnerships and vacancies in various fields. In an effort to address both of these problems, the Department of Labour, South Africa looked for practical ways to educate the population and organise training systems for school leavers and unemployed adults.

The introduction of learnerships has gone a long way towards achieving this. A learnership is a work-based learning programme. This means that classroom studies at a college or training centre are combined with practical on-the-job experience. We learn much better when we can practice what we have been taught in the classroom in a workplace environment. By physically performing tasks that are learned in the classroom at the workplace, we can see what we have learned and what we did not understand. This allows us to ask the trainer to explain that part of the lesson again until we fully understand it.

Learnerships form part of a nationally recognized qualification that is directly linked to an occupation. This means that what you learn on a learnership is not just for the particular job that you can get once you have finished the learnership; it also forms part of a higher qualification that you can study further for through other learnerships or short courses.

Some of Learnerships, and maybe Department of Labour Learnerships have a specific level of qualification. An artisan like a bricklayer or a beautician, for instance, is a Level 4 Qualification. This means that if you want to become an artisan you will have to complete 4 four separate learnerships (levels 1, 2, 3 & 4). There is no set time-frame in which you have to do these, as each level qualification remains in the system and will count towards the full qualification.

The Learner:
You get access to free learning and better job opportunities
You can earn while you learn
Learnerships can help you to get into the workplace and/or get a formal qualification

The Employer:
Gets skilled, experienced workers who will need less supervision
Gets improved productivity
Can identify and solve gaps in skills and training
Educates and empowers employees, creating a happy workforce

The Industry:
Gets access to far more skilled and professional workers
Can develop employees to world-class standards
Becomes more competitive in the international market.