A learnership is a great way to get a recognised qualification without having to pay thousands of Rands. Because of this, many people are very keen to start a learnership.
Unfortunately, starting a learnership is not as easy as filling in a form.
Before you can start there must be a company that can provide you with employment, or at least the opportunity to get the workplace experience necessary for the programme.
If you are currently employed you should speak to your company's Skills Development Facilitator or person responsible for training and ask them if there are opportunities for learnerships with your company.
If you would like to do a learnership but are currently unemployed there are a number of things you should do.
Department of Labour
Contact your local Department of Labour office as they are keeping a database of people who want to go on a course like this. Then when a course is available the employers will know where to recruit learners from.
Visit the office and tell them that you would like to register as a Job Seeker. You will fill in a form which lists your interests and skills.
Careers Portal
You can find the latest learnerships available in South Africa on The Careers Portal. You'll also find information on how to apply, learnership closing dates and answers to any questions you have about learnerships.
The Learnership programme was developed in South Africa as a modern way to advance apprenticeships to meet the modern demands of the workplace. Learnerships also manage to formalise the learning and workplace experience - which is usually sadly lacking in internships offered by companies.
Another significant benefit of Learnerships over internships is that Learnerships come with a formal pay structure where learners will be paid a monthly stipend, or payment, for the time they are on the Learnership. Also, internships do not have a learning component, while Learnerships are all linked directly to a formal qualification.
