The aim is to create a more knowledgeable, empowered workforce, leading up to the 2010 World Cup Soccer.
The first "CitiCollege" which will provide courses focused on the Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Industries, will be found in the new "CitiHost" supplement every Tuesday from 12 July 2005. CitiHost will also contain industry specific news, views and comment which will increase awareness of opportunities available within these industries.
Greg Stewart, General Manager: Commercial Operations at The Citizen, says they focused on the Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Industries first as they are the fastest growing sectors in South Africa, but are demonstrating a major shortfall of skilled human talent and, at current levels, will not be able to effectively meet the challenge of 2010 World Cup Soccer.
"An intense market research campaign showed that the industries which are expected to present South Africa as a world-class tourist destination in 2010 are severely short of trained staff, and while unemployment is rife, the recruitment pool is largely under trained and do not have the financial resources to study through the educational institutions available to them. There is an enormous demand for a training facility that is easily accessible and affordable to the community at large."
Each course will be run in The Citizen once per week every Tuesday. Students will be tested through a written examination, the content for each has been compiled by THETA Accredited Training Providers. Each course is aligned to the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and will identify learners suitable for further education and training.
There will be a R30 Registration Fee and a R100 Knowledge Assessment Fee per module. The top learners of each course will qualify for bursaries for further education and training, and these learners will also be made available to potential employers.
