TRIPLE E TRAINING HOLDINGS

Employees in the beverages manufacturing industry who do not have basic skills such as reading and writing may be in need of some education and training. A person who is able to read and write is better able to function within a manufacturing environment. Health and safety regulations within the manufacturing process will be better understood and adhered to resulting in a higher manufacturing standard being met in the workplace. The Adult Basic Education and Training programme is the ideal platform to provide employees with these and other skills. The beverages manufacturing Sector Education and Training Authority incentivise this training by offering funding to employees and employers who are registered with the SETA.

The Department of Minerals and Energy have established the Energy Sector Education and Training Authority (ESETA) to take care of the requirements of undereducated employees within these industries. Due to the lack of skills required from blue collar workers in this sector, many employees do not have the most basic education and are illiterate. ESETA offers employers in this industry funding to assist in the education of these employees through the Adult Basic Education and Training programme. The programme is aimed at providing learners with basic skills to assist them with reading and writing as well as to cope better in the work place and a personal capacity.

There is low level of education in the transport sector and it has been necessary to establish a SETA to assist in improving the skills and training of transport employees. The Transport Education and Training Authority (TETA) in conjunction with Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) aims to provide basic education to illiterate or low skilled employees in the sector. A learner will receive basic reading and writing skills as well as basic numeracy consisting of number recognition and basic mathematical calculations. Life skills as well as health and safety are also addressed through the ABET courses. The course offers a certificate that will allow a learner to further his or her education or apply for a better paid position within a company upon completion of the course.

The services industry in South Africa is always criticised for the low level of service that they offer. It is imperative that employees in this sector receive training and development to improve these service levels to meet with international standards. The Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) programme is aimed at providing basic as well as value added skills to employees in the services industry. The Services SETA provides funding to employers to incentivise them to offer skills training to their employees through the ABET process. An ABET facilitator can be registered with the SETA or an external facilitator can be used as long as the accredited with UMALUSI or ETQA.

Government, in conjunction with the department of education, SETA’s and other educational institutions is continually rolling out projects and programmes to improve the high rate of illiteracy on South Africa. The projects are mainly aimed at the adult population group who do not have the most basic reading skills. This is largely due to the legacy of apartheid and the lack of education that was provided to most people in the country but the lack of schools in rural communities also plays a part. This is a huge problem to tackle and it is the responsibility of each and every literate citizen to do their bit in advancing reading skills in South Africa.

Imagine for a moment that you are unable to read or write. We take picking up a pen and writing our own names for granted and hardly stop to think about the millions of people who do not have basic writing skills. These people form the poorest section of the population group in South Africa and they often do not have the means to pay for any education. There are also limited resources in the form of teachers, classrooms and teaching aids in the country. It is up to big business in South Africa to take up this cause in educating as many people as possible and ensuring a better future for the country as a whole.

You can use adult writing classes to learn to read or to improve on your current writing skills. Having a good vocabulary helps a person express themselves better so that they are better understood. A good vocabulary comes from reading a number of books that will give you better use of the English language. To be able to attend an adult writing class you must first be able to read. An adult writing class will also assist you in proper letter formation. This begins with holding your pen or pencil correctly so that your writing flows and is not stilted. It is no use being able to write if your hand writing is so bad that no-one can make out what you have written.

Once people are able read a language, teaching basic writing skills is the next step in the process of achieving literacy. Most of us were taught to read and write in grade one. However, many people did not have access to a school or any education under the Apartheid government. This has left us with the legacy of an adult population group who have no literacy skills whatsoever. The current government has made it a priority that every South African can read and write and has rolled out the Adult Education and Training programme. Centres have been built or converted from existing structures so that people from every walk of life will be able to have easy access to an education.

It is next to impossible to function in any area of modern society without reading skills. There are however many people who do not possess these skills and must struggle to earn money, support their families and just try to get by in life. In fact, access to education is now defined as a basic human right and is enshrined in the South African Constitution. However, most of the people who are illiterate in South Africa are adults who were not allowed to receive an education under the previous government. It is up to the people who have had the benefit of an education to assist in whatever means possible to ensure everybody has reading skills in this country.

There are over 3.3 million South African adults who are unable to read or write. With the role out of the Adult Basic Education and Training programme throughout the country, the Department of Education has put its’ backing behind learning centres that are being housed in community centres. It also launched the South African National Literacy Initiative which is based on volunteers offering their services in the training centres so that more of the illiterate population can be reached. The various training centres and volunteers acting as facilitators in the centres must be registered with the Department of Education before they can begin offering services to a community.