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Cape Town – It’s liberating having computer skills, as you well know, because you wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t know how to use a computer or cellphone. For people without the basic skills of computer literacy, everything becomes more difficult - including finding decent work.
Thanks to a Cape Town-based initiative, needy communities in the area will be able to access quality computer training for a very small price.
The Students’ Health and Welfare Centres Organisation (Shawco), which has served needy communities across Cape Town for the past 71 years, started the courses at top quality labs at their Kensington and Manenberg centres, with support from Dell.
Affordable courses
Known as Shawco ShiftIT, the initiative provides training in basic computer use at a cost of just R40 for the course. The sessions will give participants a basic introduction to Microsoft Office programs and instructions on how to navigate and search the internet – and they will get a certificate at the end of the course.
The computer centre in Manenberg also offers an internet facility from 09:00 to 17:00 Mondays to Fridays, enabling community members to search for employment opportunities and prepare and submit their CVs online.
“One of the biggest challenges impacting the communities of Manenberg and Kensington is high levels of unemployment,” said Shawco director Faith Brown, adding that community members can now improve their computer skills and search and respond to job opportunities online.
Access to jobs
Natasha Reuben, head of transformation for Dell South Africa, said the company is proud to be part of the initiative as it aims to “make internet access more accessible to poor communities and help make basic computer training available to all, regardless of age”.
Said Reuben: “We hope that through this programme we can help people access job opportunities, children research school projects and find study aids and help local businesses become more efficient by making IT more available.”
* To learn more, contact Karen Damon (Kensington) on 021 593 2201 and Cyril Pelston (Manenberg) on 073 399 4425.
- Fin24
Thanks to a Cape Town-based initiative, needy communities in the area will be able to access quality computer training for a very small price.
The Students’ Health and Welfare Centres Organisation (Shawco), which has served needy communities across Cape Town for the past 71 years, started the courses at top quality labs at their Kensington and Manenberg centres, with support from Dell.
Affordable courses
Known as Shawco ShiftIT, the initiative provides training in basic computer use at a cost of just R40 for the course. The sessions will give participants a basic introduction to Microsoft Office programs and instructions on how to navigate and search the internet – and they will get a certificate at the end of the course.
The computer centre in Manenberg also offers an internet facility from 09:00 to 17:00 Mondays to Fridays, enabling community members to search for employment opportunities and prepare and submit their CVs online.
“One of the biggest challenges impacting the communities of Manenberg and Kensington is high levels of unemployment,” said Shawco director Faith Brown, adding that community members can now improve their computer skills and search and respond to job opportunities online.
Access to jobs
Natasha Reuben, head of transformation for Dell South Africa, said the company is proud to be part of the initiative as it aims to “make internet access more accessible to poor communities and help make basic computer training available to all, regardless of age”.
Said Reuben: “We hope that through this programme we can help people access job opportunities, children research school projects and find study aids and help local businesses become more efficient by making IT more available.”
* To learn more, contact Karen Damon (Kensington) on 021 593 2201 and Cyril Pelston (Manenberg) on 073 399 4425.
- Fin24
