Background
CAPequip is a job readiness and skills development programme for youth in the Swellendam and Cape Agulhas municipal areas.
After 4 years of biannual informal interviews with branch managers and staff of a prominent retail chain, we know that the youth that climbs the corporate ladder are the ones that take responsibility for themselves. Taking this into account, we formulated the CAPequip program so that you must take responsibility for your growth journey.
We use self-directed online programs that can be completed in 3 Months if you do 2 x 1-hour sessions per week. You can come to our learning centre or access the material from any other computer with access to the internet. The learning centre is at CAP’s office and is available Monday to Thursday.
We support and mentor those who wish to receive more guidance.
Self-directed online programs
Home row computer typing
Course duration – 10 hrs
The time required to complete the course will vary by learner and experience level. We estimate at least 10 hours to complete the entire course.
The following Learning Paths will be covered:
- Learn the keys
- Punctuation & Advanced keys
- Cross-curricular typing
- Creative writing
- Coding essentials
Microsoft digital literacy
Course duration – 9 hrs
The time required to complete the course will vary by learner and experience level. We estimate at least 1.5 hours per module, or 9 hours to complete the entire course.
The following Learning Paths will be covered:
- Basic digital knowledge on how to use a computer
- How to use the Internet
- How to keep yourself and your computer safe online
- How to use Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint
- Create digital content
- Collaborate and manage content digitally
Skills to succeed
Duration for all 3 courses – 17 hrs
The time commitment required to complete all 3 the course will vary by learner and experience level. We estimate 17 hours to complete the entire course. The skills to succeed program has many courses that beneficiaries can access.
For the 3-month CAPequip program, we focus on the following 3 courses.
Choose a career
Course duration – 3 h 30 min
This course has six modules that guide a participant toward making informed decisions about their careers. The modules in this course explore
- What a ‘career’ really means.
- How to choose a career by thinking about motivations, skills, values and passions.
- How to recognise external influences and that jobs may not always be what they seem.
- Where to find information to help with understanding career options.
- The importance of trying new things to help build a career.
Getting a job
Course duration – 11 hrs
The 20 Getting a Job Course modules cover all the steps to securing a job. The modules in this course explore:
- Who can help you in your journey to finding and securing a job.
- How to identify your transferable skills and then talk about them.
- How to interpret job adverts and understand what skills they are asking for.
- How to create and tailor a CV.
- How to use your network and research techniques to find and secure the right job.
- How to improve verbal and written responses using the CAR (context, action, result) technique.
- What steps are involved in the selection process during job applications?
- How to navigate the selection process during job applications.
- How to prepare for and succeed in phone, face-to-face and panel interviews.
- How to enhance your online professional presence and use the information available to you on LinkedIn to help your job search and applications.
Thinking critically
Course duration – 2 hrs
This course will teach you to evaluate information and think through
decisions.
- Discover what critical thinking is and how it is used in our day to day lives
- Learn about the four Cs and why critical thinking is so important
- Learn about traits you can focus on developing to improve your critical thinking.
- Identify skills you can use in critical thinking, as well as barriers that may hold you back,
- Understand how to spot the difference between real and fake news or information
- Discover which skills are most important to thrive in today’s workforce
- Use a five-step approach to help you think critically when making a decision
- See how taking time to think through problems, using critical thinking and avoiding jumping to conclusions can help you solve issues.
- Reflect on critical thinking and identify any areas for further development
Other CAPequip opportunities
Workshops
CAP hosts various workshops during the year. These include
- Information sessions about available opportunities.
- Life Skills session on, taking responsibility for yourself, communication, respect, and conflict management.
- Gender Based Violence.
- Topics as determined by CAPequip Cuppa sessions.
Job shadowing
Once a beneficiary has completed the 3 months self-directed program they will have a better idea of what they want to do with their career. We help them find job shadowing opportunities to build experience in their field of interest.
Funding needed to support CAPequip
Infrastructure
Laptops / Computers need to be maintained and upgraded. If you need to upgrade yours and it is still in a condition that we can use, please consider donating it.
Software Licenses
Software and online programs come with a price tag. Consider sponsoring a youth to complete an online course or help us cover licensing fees.
Continuation of program
Help fund the running of the CAPequip program. Trainers, coaches and mentors need to earn salaries too.
