Follow-Up Programmes

Unemployed Students of Life Skills and Leadership Programmes — Three Phases

Phase 1.An 8-to-9-session programme lasting three hours per session, is conducted on weekdays, over a 12-week period in each area where life skills courses are run. Sessions are run every week for the first four to five weeks, then every other week. The programme includes further life skills teachings, motivational talks, testimonies from former successful students, talks from opportunity providers, information sharing about available opportunities, and, most importantly, ongoing guidance and support to help participants become productive with their time, thus improving their chances of finding further opportunities. This course targets those students who finished the recent life skills course, although students from prior courses are welcome to attend.

Phase 2.In the future, the plan is to have monthly sessions covering much of the above, but held during times that are convenient for people who are working or studying (e.g., weekends). These sessions would provide a continuous forum for all former World Changers students in each area to interact and help one another, while gaining valuable information and motivation. These sessions will be open to all target groups, including high school students and the unemployed.

Phase 3.Special events are also part of WCA's follow-up. On a quarterly, semester, or yearly basis, special programmes are run to bring together students from various areas. Smaller events are run in the local region, covering several different areas where life skills have been run while larger events are located in more central venues and include special events (e.g., career fairs). Sometimes, instead of organising these events itself, WCA refers people to other organisations that coordinate these events (e.g., Future Leaders).

In addition, future plans include having special events. On a quarterly, semester, or yearly basis, special programmes would be run to bring together students from various areas. Smaller events would be run in the local region, covering several different areas where life skills have been run, while larger events would be located in more central venues and include career fairs, for example. Where available, WCA encourages its students to attend events organised by other organisations, such as Future Leaders Career Exhibition.

The Student Placement Programme

• WCA has staff who put a significant amount of energy into finding meaningful opportunities for students (e.g., work, study, volunteer, business creation, and so on).

• WCA shares opportunities directly with relevant students, through area coordinators and follow-up meetings.

• WCA encourages students to actively volunteer and pursue self-study (e.g. read books, be mentored by others), and to record what they are doing and studying. This information is attached with their resumes and WCA motivates to companies that it has students that may be fairly unskilled and inexperienced, but that they have tremendous initiative and commitment, as evidenced by what they have been doing with their lives with severely limited resources.

• WCA monitors student progress in a variety of companies in which they are placed.

Once students have completed one month of being productive (e.g., volunteering, reading books, etc.), they qualify to be eligible to take part in World Changers opportunities. Currently, the main opportunity that WCA provides is a six-day work experience programme at Mr. Price group stores, which offer clothing, home goods, and sporting goods on a retail basis, near to where eligible students live, which often leads to casual employment (about 50 percent become employed). Such offerings can lead to permanent employment in Mr. Price and elsewhere.

Paying It Forward

Before students are placed into job opportunities, they are asked to make a commitment: pay the cost of their life skills course and/or follow-up programme (currently costing about R600 per person) when they gain employment through WCA and to sponsor someone else in order to get the same benefit that they have received. Employees pay 10 percent of their base salary until their full amount has been paid.

Benefiting from the JobLink Opportunity

As a founding member, WCA is setting up a non-profit organisation called JobLink, which falls under the TDH Foundation. JobLink was initially funded by Mr. Price and is currently in development. It will become a comprehensive and efficient "candidate/student database management tool" to be used by organisations such as WCA to assist with the tracking and placement of students as they begin employment and other opportunities. It will be a Web-based system that many non-profit and commercial training and recruitment organisations will use for job preparation, job linkage, and the tracking of candidates/students. Using JobLink, organisations will be better able to track and monitor student progress, especially in regards to job placement success.

High School Students Programmes

As WCA's high schools team members do ongoing work at schools, they keep in touch with students throughout their tenure. Because the life skills programme lasts one year, WCA's facilitators have a long period of time to work with these students. Facilitators also meet with students on a one-on-one basis outside of class time when needs arise.

Of the students that take life skills courses, several are chosen to take part in leadership programmes, which involve further input into those students' lives. High school students will also be welcomed to join monthly World Changers follow-up meetings in various communities. (See Phase 2 above relating to the three-phase follow-up programme for the unemployed).

Employees Training Programmes

These programmes involve monthly meetings in the workplace, once the life skills programme has finished. It uses similar content as the monthly meetings for the unemployed. Employee programme participants will also be welcome to join monthly World Changers follow-up meetings in various communities. (See Phase 2 above relating to the three-phase follow-up programme for the unemployed).

Research Project

WCA plans to run an exhaustive research project to assess student progress in various programmes over an extended period of time. The concept is for this research project to be undertaken in at least one community, but ideally three. A similar research initiative should ultimately be held every three years in every community where WCA runs programmes. WCA has already had small impact studies done on life skills and leadership programmes for the unemployed. To see the results of these studies, click here.

Computer Training

WCA has provided computer training in two communities where it ran life skills courses. One of these places still runs computer courses for life skills student — in KwaNyuswa — where WCA was founded. WCA would like to partner with organisations that can provide free or low-cost computer training for all its unemployed life skills students.