TAKING MENTORSHIP AND SUPPORT TO WHERE THE LEARNERS ARE

cefa became the first Service Provider ever to offer Social Auxiliary Work training in South Africa. This dream came true when the Health and Welfare SETA (HWSETA) and the Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP) granted cefa closed approval. In the true sense of the word this means that permission is "closed to every body else" until further notice.

Approval of this request is a very important landmark for cefa because even more people will be able to access training now. At cefa we were concerned that learnerships were becoming the privilege of some elite groups instead of including those who needs training the most. Currently Social Auxiliary Work learnerships are mainly restricted to large groups in government sectors whom are sponsored by the workplaces themselves. This way Social Auxiliary Work became almost a non existing option for the working youth.

cefa convinced the HWSETA and SACSSP that we have the capacity to turn the situation around by offering Social Auxiliary Work learnerships and this way open doors for individuals who never would have had the opportunity. The model is more affordable because learners have different paying options which stretches over a longer periods and can occur on a monthly basis. Learners experience learning in their real life situations and, because the learning period is extended, get the opportunity to internalise knowledge better. Welfare structures are well established in South Africa which makes the implementation of mentoring structures less challenging.

cefa's state of the art learning material was especially developed to assist learners by means of step by step learning guides. Our well structured learner support program supports learners, cater for learning problems and friendly cefa staff are available for telephonic support. There are regular scheduled contact sessions in the different regions to meet the needs of each and every learner. Learners functions under the guidance and control of social workers which means they work with them on a daily basis and have the opportunity for observation in real life situations.