TRAINING NEWS

SABC / MICT SETA internship project

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:21

SABC interns

On 29 November the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), in partnership with the Department of Higher Education and Training through National Skills Fund (NSF), and the Media, Advertising, Information and Communication Technologies Sector Education Training Authority (MICT-SETA), held a graduation ceremony to honour the students who have successfully completed the internship and learnership programmes, as well as staff members who received bursaries.

The internship and learnership programmes commenced on 1 February 2011 and learners were placed at the Auckland Park office as well as in the various SABC offices in the respective provinces.

The duration of the programme was for 12 months for Learnerships (58 Learners) and 10 months for Internships (204 learners) as well as 17 employees in the SABC, who studied at various institutions, representing various fields.

The internship contracts have been extended by The SABC until end of March 2012. This will provide them a further opportunity to accelerate their learning and gain more skills and knowledge.

To date, the organisation has absorbed 20% of the students from the programme, in areas such as Technology and News.

The project was geared towards contributing to the reduction of unemployment and increase skills levels through the implementation of the Internship and Learnership programmes.

The objective of the project was to:

Provide Graduates with workplace experience
Provide matriculants with Skills programs through Learnerships
Address skills shortages in key areas in Broadcasting and
Reduce unemployment through absorption of some learners into the workplace

The SABC has trained the Graduates/Learners in core and critical broadcasting and media skills that include; Broadcast Engineering, Journalism, Radio and TV Operations, and Technical Broadcast exposure. Through the project, the SABC and the DHET, aimed to create and enhance work opportunities coupled with increased skills levels for unemployed youth.

Acting SABC GCEO Phil Molefe said: “For the corporation, as a leading public broadcasting institution in South Africa and certainly the continent, it is very important to give graduates in the broadcasting/media field hands-on experience as it prepares them for the workplace by strengthening their practical skills and matching them to the theory they have learned. We have also invested resources in continuously up-skilling our employees to keep their skills in line with global trends.

The Minister of the Department of Higher Education and Training, has emphasised the importance of such initiatives as another avenue for empowering the youth and reducing unemployment. This partnership will ensure that this objective is addressed.

According to Statistics South Africa, the unemployment rate in the country stands at 25, 5% and skills shortages in key areas such as Technology continue to compound the problem.

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