Tag Archives: Sparrow FET College

Sparrow FET College

Never let poverty have the best of you!

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I don’t think you have ever met a lady who loves cars like I do. I am that daughter that would break things just to see how they operate or to check what’s inside and why it’s there. Khomotso Makuru is a 26 year old lady from Tafelkop which is a town in Sekhukhune District Municipality in Limpopo Province, who is currently residing in Thembisa, Johannesburg. When she arrived in Johannesburg she started looking for a part time job to sustain her and keep her going. Even though her family was not financially stable enough to pay for college fees, she never lost hope and continued to believe that she would become a motor mechanic.

Khomotso was referred to Sparrow FET College by her relative who was once a student at the FET College and is now a permanent employee at Sasol mine in Mpumalanga. Khomotso is one of two ladies who are currently enrolled for the motor mechanic course at Sparrow FET College. She is determined to do her best in the course, due to her love for cars and regular research to find out more about the course she is doing and more about cars, she is not experiencing any challenges at the college. Although she is crazy about cars, she is also an entertainer, as we saw her dominating the dance floor at the FET College spring day event which took place on the 1st of September 2017, Khomotso is clearly a lady of many talents.

 

After completing her studies, Khomotso would like to open up her own business, where she will be able to provide for her son and her family, while also empowering women from her community to have more than one income, through creating their own businesses. Women are encouraged on a daily basis to take the challenge and get into the industries which were once male dominated, like automotive repair, fluid power hose assembly, plumbing and installation of floor coverings.

If you want to further your dreams, let us help you achieve your dreams now! Contact the Sparrow FET College and book your assessment on 0116734419/10

Sparrow FET College

Sparrow FET College spring day fundraising!

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The best way to start spring is with great food, good music and good friends. The delicious smell of freshly baked muffins and grilled meat filled the campus with lots of excitement and leaving everyone drooling. The professional cookery students prepared delicious food to be sold on campus during the spring day celebration which took place at the FET college campus. Delicious pap, wors, chicken drumsticks and delicious chakalaka was on the menu together with cupcakes for dessert and cool drink to wash down the divine plate filled with goodness. The food plate was sold at R25 and R10 for a cool drink while a cupcake was charged for as little as R5. The professional cookery class learnt how to be patient, provide quality food, work in a team and most importantly learn how to be an entrepreneur and what it takes to be in the food industry. The learners took everything that they had been taught by their lecture Chef Mpho and put it to the test as they did all this work without supervision.  Big ups to our chefs who will in the near future own their own restaurants!

The automotive repair and maintenance students took to the car wash challenge, as they washed cars at the college for the day. The cost of washing a car was R30. Both young ladies and gentleman did their best, and proved to everyone that being a mechanic is not only about the engine, but also about how the car looks. If you want to be an entrepreneur these are the key skills that you need:

  • The ability to manage money
  • The ability to raise money
  • The ability to be productive
  • Networking
  • Great communication skills
  • Time management
  • Adapt to change
  • Work hard 

#SparrowFETentrepreneurs

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Female hose assembler striving for success in a male dominated industry

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Most people find it difficult to adapt to change but it was a different story for Rendani Vele, a 26 year old lady who had to leave her comfortable home town full of avocados and all kinds of fruits in Venda including the traditional Venda lifestyle of her village. She had to relocate to the busy city of gold and swapping lifestyles or cities meant that she had to drop out of a mechanical engineering course as she couldn’t afford the course fees in Johannesburg. She had to opt for a much cheaper option yet highly demanded course as her family was not financially stable to pay the course fees. Her cousin who had enrolled as an early childhood development student at the Sparrow Schools FET College advised her to contact the school as it is much cheaper and she can choose from the course options available at the FET College.

She initially wanted to enroll for the early childhood development course but the course was already full when she contacted the college. Rendani then opted for the motor mechanic course and unfortunately she did not qualify for that course. Having received all the feedback from the college she did not give up and enrolled for the hose assembling course in which she was the only female in the class. It is a 6 months course consisting of 3 months at the college and 3 months at a workplace for experience. Even though funds to pay for fees were not available, her father made sure that she had money to pay for her assessment and registration fee as the rest was paid for by the college. Being the only female in class made her the little sister to all boys in her class; she enjoyed playing soccer with her classmates and speaks highly of Mr. Parker who was her favorite teacher.

The idea of being a hose assembler wasn’t fascinating to for her at first but now that she has leant a lot about the course, she is excited about the industry and would like to have her own hose assembling business in the near future. Rendani is currently doing her workplace experience at Alfagoma as a hose assembler and she has been there for more than a month. As Sparrow Schools FET has provided her with education and a workplace experience, she believes that it is up to her to learn as much as she can and grow not only in the industry but also in the company. The hose assembling industry is a male dominated industry and Rendani is working hard to be successful in the industry.

To apply, please email admissions@sparrowschhools.co.za or call us to book your assessment 011 673 4410/4419.

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Building a generation that is fully equipped to take the bait

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As the rate of unemployed graduates increases every year, skill development programmes help to reduce the rate by offering students with specific skills training that are highly demanded in the job market. The programmes also inspire an entrepreneurial mindset which will have a positive impact on the country’s economy and communities when the students open their own businesses. To help companies increase their BEE score card, they can invest in different kinds of skills development training including internships, school bursaries and learnerships. When investing in a skills development programme a company will be credited with 25 points on the BEE score card. With the #feesmustfall movement creating a disruption in tertiary institutions, companies need to spend money on skills development programmes to have a good reputation on their employment equity profile.

The Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995, states that no one should be discriminated in the workplace or while looking for a job according to their race, gender or social background. At Sparrow FET College we provide you with a solution that benefits your scorecard and your company image, which will result in repeated business. Sparrow FET College provides 12 months learnerships and 6 months skills development programmes. A company can either fund a student to study, pay for their school bursary or employ a student to gain workplace experience and grow within the company. Join Sparrow Schools FET in reducing the unemployment rate while increasing your BEE score card. #EducateAchild

Sourced from Cores and Econobee

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Diyoko continues to rise…

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Diyoko’s story has been featured on our blog before. One of our proudest success stories, Diyoko overcame a terrible accident that left him partially disabled and after training at Sparrow in Business Administration was employed in the Admissions office. From when he first had his accident Diyoko has been working with Evey and Gail Jones from the Department of Speech Therapy and Audiology at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. As Evey put it, Diyoko’s speech disorder was a structural one, which meant it was caused by the reshaping of his physical face and mouth rather than any cognitive reasons. This frustrated Diyoko as he tried to communicate with his office mates Adelaide and Montshadi, as they could not always understand him.

Fortunately, technology has been growing in the field of alternative communication and Diyoko was identified as a prime candidate to receive an augmentative communication device from the hospital which would help him to communicate through his computer. The device is made up of an adapted mouse and joystick that reads into a computer programme. Diyoko will be able to preprogram common words and sentences and select the appropriate one when he wants to communicate with anyone in his office. His office mates will also be able to suggest any phrases they feel he may need to use to communicate with them or for them.

The programme has been a godsend to Diyoko and his team, and it gives him even greater independence and allows him to be more productive than before. Whilst the setting up process is still underway as Diyoko and his office mates all need to be trained in the software, everyone is excited about what it will mean in terms of Diyoko’s professional life.

“He will be able to participate even more at work,” Evey explains. “Dioko will be able to prepare for future meetings by pre-programming whatever information he wishes to present and bring forward. Every now and then, we will be checking up on him to make sure he is transitioning smoothly to augmentative communication, as we want this to be as uncomplicated and easy as possible for him. He will be able to do so much more, not only in his workplace but in his personal life as well.”

The simple act of communicating shouldn’t be something that hinders anyone in this age of technology, and thanks to the generous donation of Chris Hani Baragwanath, Diyoko has overcome another barrier and will achieve even more at Sparrow FET College.

Call us now to make your dreams a reality!   011 673 4410/4419

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From welding student to achieving his dreams.

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All his academic life, Pule Nkaenkae had been a great student. He sailed through the first eleven years of his schooling and when he got the chance to do a diploma he succeeded in graduating with several distinctions. All in all, Pule should have been on top of the world. But after graduating it all came to a standstill. He just couldn’t get a job. His diploma in Road Transport Management was good, but ultimately, the job market was just too saturated to find a place for him. Pule was never one to sit on his haunches however. He still had a small but steady job as a sales assistant that he had worked steadily at for six years since a year after matric, and though it wasn’t enough to achieve his goals, he worked hard at it whilst he looked for something better. At the end of 2013, he heard about Sparrow FET College from a youth development programme he attended. Sparrow was one of the recommended schools for youth in his position or even worse, and Pule immediately took the chance and signed up for the welding programme. He was not hesitant about going back to school all over again.

“I love learning,” he says with passion. “Learning the theory of welding was very simple for me as I enjoy studying greatly. From the word go, what I liked about Sparrow FET College was the fact that you could feel the personal vested interest in your education from the college. You had a relationship with them. I was not just a face at a university, I was Pule who was doing Welding and they knew every facet of my learning. If I struggled, they would immediately see and help me.”

At first Pule struggled at the college. In those days, the welding programme was new and there were no stipends for students so Pule struggled with transport money. But he grit his teeth and persevered. Attending Sparrow also opened Pule’s eyes to opportunities the youth today ignored. “Young people today, they all want to rush to university, but that is not where the jobs are.” He says ruefully. “They should research what is in demand.”

By July of 2014, Pule was doing his placement at New Heights Tank Design as a trainee. After he finished his training, the company took him in. Here began another rollercoaster. Pule had a great work ethic and all the managers were greatly impressed by him. He was snapped up into another department as soon as he was made a permanent employee, and got the opportunity to travel out of the country for large projects. And as of this year, when the company split and a new one was formed, Pule was the in demand employee everyone wanted to hire.

“I am a very motivated person, and with the training I got at Sparrow, I finally got a chance to apply and be rewarded for my motivation. What I always like to say is don’t start something you can’t finish. It is a waste of time and energy. It’s very difficult to overcome financial struggles, they interfere with everything, but as soon as you begin something you need to work to finish it. Be determined, be motivated, finish the task.”

Pule has plenty more tasks he is set to achieve, travel, furthering his new career and more. But with his determination and motivation, he is sure to achieve his dreams.

For more info: go to www.sparrowschools.co.za, call us on 011 673 4419 or email us on admissions@sparrowschools.co.za

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A female student in a male dominated industry deiced to take charge whilst on workplace experience and was hired after a month!

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Thembisile first heard about the opportunity to study Fluid Power Hose Assembly at Sparrow FET College through The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). After graduating from college, Thembisile could not find a job in the field of electrical engineering and spent several years volunteering whilst looking for work.

In April 2016, Thembisile registered to study Fluid Power Hose Assembly at Sparrow FET College in Sophiatown and found the course ‘interesting’ and ‘engaging’. After her three months at the College, Thembisile was placed at Pirtek to gain practical work experience and within a month of her placement, she was offered a permanent position at the company.

“I used everything that I was taught and took initiative in my placement. I am enjoying my job and learning something new everyday.”

If you would like to find out more about the opportunity to receive a fully funded bursary to study at Sparrow FET College then we want to hear from you: admissions@sparrowschools.co.za / +27116734410 or 4419

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A sports coaching student refuses to give up!

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Xolane is on his way to living his dream. Since he was a boy, Xolane had always loved the thrill of football, and even more, the thrill of organising and running a team. He didn’t immediately seize on that passion, however. In his neighbourhood in Thembisa, Xolane was known for the football team he had been coaching since Grade 11, Boys’ Team FC.  

After completing his matric, he got a job at OR Tambo International Airport in customer service. The job was good, but the hours were bad, and Boys’ Team FC fell by the wayside. At this point, Xolane’s life took a turn darker. He is reluctant to get into this area of his past, but admits free time at odd hours and bad friends introduced a new lifestyle of illicit substances into his life. Two years after beginning, he had to leave his job, unable to sustain the balance anymore.

He temped at a department store for three months, but afterwards he was back to spending all his days at home. But Xolane was not one to be a victim of his circumstances. He cleaned up and decided to occupy himself with his first love: football. He restarted Boys’ Team FC and began coaching with renewed purpose. It was hard without funding, but the enthusiasm and raw talent of the team allowed them to secure sponsorship from a friend of Xolane’s who ran a timber company. Xolane knew the next step to getting his team taken seriously was to make sure the coach, himself, was taken seriously. Fortunately for him, he soon caught the eye of a Sparrow staff member, Mr Musa. Mr Musa approached him and told him about the sports coaching programme at Sparrow FET College. Xolane took a chance, and he couldn’t be happier. “I am gaining so many opportunities here at Sparrow,” he says. In spite of a rocky start due to lack of finances for travel at the beginning of the programme, he has settled in well at the college, with the help of his dedicated lecturer and support of his fellow students. “I am planning to take part in the Booksmart for Rugby programme before I graduate,” he says. “I am greatly looking forward to that. I’m hoping to transfer the credit I earn here towards a sports diploma at a university, and take my career further.” At 22 years of age, Xolane feels he has already lived a lot, but knows he has a world’s worth of life waiting to be seized ahead of him. “Impossible is nothing,” he says thoughtfully. “In life, we all have dreams. Some things will hold us back, but never think twice about what you want, don’t discourage yourself. It will happen.”

If you’re interested in making your dreams come true, please book your assessment via 011 673 4410/4419.

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Partnerships are key to upskilling SA youth

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South Africa’s further education and training (FET) institutions and private sector companies have to form innovative partnerships to successfully address the country’s twin challenge of a critical skills shortage coupled with high youth unemployment.

Sparrow FET College was founded in 2010 to provide a theoretical, practical, and real-world application approach to skills development and training for learners from a disadvantaged background.

The college is a social enterprise that works with both government and private companies to identify which skills are in demand, and to train learners in these areas – including in construction, engineering, hospitality and IT – with the outcome being an accredited NQF level qualification.

A fundamental difference at Sparrow is that educators go beyond just what’s in the curriculum; not only are they experts in their field, but they bring their own life experience into the classroom and provide learners with a mentor or role model to look up to. This includes coaching learners in areas such as life skills, financial literacy and more.

Learners also cover practical parts of the curriculum content in a simulated workplace environment to better prepare them for the real-world workplace – be it a workshop or a chef’s kitchen.

In addition, while learners completing their studies across many of the country’s FET colleges are left to try and find companies willing to provide them with internships by themselves, Sparrow works with industry partners to place students, where they get further training, learn to adapt to the workplace environment, and are prepared for future employment.

Our placement process starts with a psychometric assessment, and continues onto monitoring by job coaches to ensure students continue to develop and are capable of carrying out their duties at the workplace.

We feel this is where the college’s success lies – it’s done to strike a balance between our social responsibility needs, with the requirement of companies for competent and reliable employees – and build a sustainable relationship between the college and industry partners.

South Africa’s amended broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) codes have already placed a strong emphasis on skills development, with a priority on women and marginalised disabled youth –  both from the existing workforce, and unemployed, previously disadvantaged youth.

But by working closer together, the country’s FET colleges and private sector can build fruitful partnerships that go beyond simply meeting compliance requirements and actually make a meaningful effort toward creating inclusive, growth driven opportunities for South Africa’s youth.

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“I learnt a lot about theory and practical requirements for professional cooking, which is helping me at my work placement.”

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Sinah grew up in the North West of Rustenburg with her grandparents, when her mother passed away. After completing her matric in 2011, Sinah spent her time looking for employment and in 2013 she attended a cookery course, which she could not complete due to financial pressures on the family. It was only in 2016 that Sinah heard about Sparrow FET College when a staff member from Sparrow visited Rustenburg to recruit candidates.. Sinah began her Professional Cookery course in July 2016 and spoke about how much she learnt at the college:

“I learnt a lot about theory and practical requirements for professional cooking, which is helping me at my work placement.”

Sinah is currently undertaking her work placement at Gold Reef City and is enjoying the experience. Despite finishing the theoretical part of the Professional Cookery course in December 2016, Sinah still feels supported by Sparrow. Students have regular visits from job coaches to check on their progress at the work placement and address any challenges they face.

Sinah is currently living with sister in Johannesburg who has also recently started studying at Sparrow…

“Sparrow is a good place for people like us who don’t have any money. It helps people, which is why I encouraged my sister to also study at Sparrow FET College.”

When Sinah finishes her course, she would like to get a job a permanent job in the food industry and has ambitions to become a sous chef.

If you would like to join Sparrow FET College today, email us on admissions@sparrowschools.co.za to book your assessment or if you are looking for an extra pair of hands you can host our learners for 6 months at no cost contact us: 011 673 4410/19.