Through different life-orientation programmes the Forum started a revolution of change, creating opportunities and making a significant difference in the lives of people living in the rural communities of South Africa. The Forum enjoys the support of sponsors such as Ceres Fruit Juices (Pty) Ltd, the Deciduous Fruit Producers’ Trust, the National Lottery Distribution Fund, Purity Flour a division of Pioneer Feeds, Standard Bank and various overseas sponsorships, who have invested in the Forum’s activities. These programmes are fast becoming the model for many development programmes in South Africa.

Training and development programmes enable employees to develop to their full potential and thereby support the social and economic development of the country as a whole. The pace of development is determined by the target group – their level of exposure and educational background. Cape Women’s Forum builds capacity and continuous support, servicing and monitoring of participants.


MISSION

The mission of the Cape Women’s Forum is to contribute to the building of a motivated and skilled agricultural workforce in South Africa through the provision of high quality accredited outcomes-based training and development programmes that enable learners to obtain credits towards a formal national qualification aligned to the National Qualifications Framework.

STRATEGIC INTENTION

The strategic intention of the Cape Women’s Forum is: Growth through development

TRAINING POLICY

The Cape Women's Forum endeavours to keep up to date with developments and changes in the Education and Training structure and strives to meet the requirements and policies of South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).

PROJECTS FOR WOMEN IN CONJUNCTION WITH AGRISETA

The AgriSETA recognised the importance of health workers on farms and provided funding for the following projects:

2005: Skills programme for 115 health workers (Ref FM300.4.05) in the following areas:

AREA Gender
Total
Female Male
Breede River 15 - 15
De Doorns 13 - 13
Gamtoos Valley 19 2 21
Groot Marico 9 2 11
Kakamas 8 1 9
Kanoneiland 7 4 11
Langkloof 11 - 11
Lutzville 6 4 10
Paarl 11 3 14
Total 99 16 115

2006: Learnership in Ancillary Health care for 25 learners in Wolseley and Villiersdorp area
Learnership in Ancillary Health care for 27 learners in the Paarl and Wellington area
2007: Skills programme for 17 health workers in Ceres

HEALTH WORKERS ON FARMS

The benefit for the health worker is that she/he can empower herself/himself with knowledge and skills by:
• Participating in a training programme that can contribute to a national qualification as determined by SAQA;
• Making a contribution to promote health of farming and/or rural communities and thereby improving quality of life.

In order to support the health worker, it is necessary to know what the functions of the health worker are and what is expected from him/her. Thus, the job description of a health worker:

1. THE ROLE OF A HEALTH WORKER

After completion of a training programme and in co-operation with the local clinic and/or a registered nurse, the producer and the farming community, the health worker will promote health on the farms by empowering the farming community through the transfer of information and the handling of illnesses within the scope of practice.

2. CHARACTERISTICS OF A HEALTH WORKER

The person, who must be identified by the community and supported by the farm management, must have certain characteristics. ie:

• be willing to get involved in the programme;
• be willing to learn about health;
• be willing to apply treatment within the scope of practice;
• be trusted and accepted by the community;
• preferably be able to read and write;
• have good communication skills;
• be able to convey to others the information that he/she has received.

3. FUNCTIONS OF A HEALTH WORKER

The health worker will be able to fulfill the following core functions:
• Attendance of training sessions and programmes;
• Establishment of communication links between workers, employers, teachers, trainers, health services, NGOs and other relevant role players;
• Finding out about problems through visits to homes and crèches, with a special focus on child health;
• Referral to health services where workers need advanced care according to a specific framework supplied by the local health services;
• Treatment of less serious illnesses and rendering first-aid according to protocol;
• Promoting health and giving counseling, in particular personal lifestyles and the environment of the community, through group discussions and meetings with individuals;
• Making workers aware of occupational safety;
• Support of chronic ill and handicapped people with regard to the administering of medicine, referral, support and home care;
• Keeping required records and statistics.

THE CAPE WOMEN’S FORUM TRAINING PROGRAMME

The three divisions of the learnership are:

1. Language 2. Mathematics 3. Health

The health modules include the following:

MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION
Induction
Life orientation
Self development
Definition of Health
Human needs

MODULE 2: THE HUMAN BODY
Anatomy and Physiology
The main parts of the body
The main organs of the body
The main systems of the body

MODULE 3: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
The cell
Conception
Pregnancy
Development of the fetus to a baby
Birth
Family planning
Abortion
From baby to adulthood
Old age care
Death

MODULE 4: HEALTH RISKS
Collection of information
Compiling of a community profile
Factors that influence health
• Hygiene – home and garden
• Nutrition
• Exercise
• Environmental risks
• Health services and health promotion
• Improving health of communities


MODULE 5: HEALTH CONDITIONS AND DISABILITIES

General health conditions
Non transferable and transferable diseases
Health risks
Addiction
Abuse
TB Dots

MODULE 6: ADMINISTRATION
Record keeping
Observation
Referrals

MODULE 7: FIRST AID
Phase 1-first aid (done by external provider, ie St Johns Ambulance or SA First Aid League)

MODULE 8: HOME BASE CARE
Introduction
General observation and procedures
Home base care of the patient
Nursing of transferable diseases
Special care of the unconscious patient
Administration
Old age care
Rehabilitation
The terminal patient

MODULE 9: DISASTERS
Identification of disasters
Potential disasters
• Nature or mankind disasters
Cause factors of disasters
Health risks associated with disasters
Disaster management

MODULE 10: HEALTH PROMOTION
National Health systems
Different types of health care
Health projects

MODULE 11: LEGISLATION APPLICABLE ON HEALTH
Service providers that manage human rights in connection with health
National Constitution for the rights of patients
Rights of old age people
Human Rights charter for terminal patients
Human Rights for people with disabilities
Batho pele (People first)
Health legislation in South Africa

QUALIFICATION

The training is outcome-based and the learners will be assessed according to the guidelines of the National Qualifications Framework as determined by SAQA. The Cape Women’s Forum will be responsible for the moderation process as well as the SETA-verification.
• NQF1 GETC in Ancillary Health Care.

Estelle Engelbrecht of the Cape Women’s Forum can be contacted on (021) 8832490 or 0836757478

HR INTERGRAL TO SUCCESS OF LEARNING
The role that the Human Resources department plays in the success of any training programme cannot be overemphasised. That’s according to Michelle Stanfield of adult education company Media Works. She cites the example of OverbergAgri, a company that has recently implemented the Media Works multimedia Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) programme. HR officer Denmarie Morland is key in driving the learning process at OverbergAgri.

An AgriSETA site, OverbergAgri has 21 learners, all of whom speak Afrikaans as a first language. These learners are improving their English skills, acquiring computer skills and numeracy skills using the multimedia, interactive ABET programme developed by Media Works. Stanfield points out that all 20 of these learners have completed two areas of learning each in the space of a year, an excellent result for an AgriSETA client. She elaborates: “Learners who fall under the AgriSETA are characterized by high levels of illiteracy and generally don’t speak English at all. It is a great achievement for these learners to have completed what they have.”

Morland attributes the success of the ABET programme to the company’s facilitators: OverbergAgri has three facilitators, all of whom are former school teachers. She says, “We are very fortunate to have facilitators who know how to create a hunger for knowledge. Once the learners want to know more, they cannot be stopped.”

Stanfield says, “All of the projects that we do for the AgriSETA are very rewarding. We have seen amazing progress amongst our learners in the past year. This process adds so much to people’s lives. We first had to change perceptions of learning before we could implement ABET on farms. We had to create a whole culture of learning on the farms, which was a very rewarding process for us.”

SALVOKOP FLORA AND FAUNA RESCUED

In a recent article published in the Pretoria News on 12 July 2007, parolees who were funded by the AgriSETA via Learnerships namely the GEC: Horticulture, assisted with trees that needed to be marked, taken to the nursery and be replanted at the reserve. The parolees were trained on how to identify the plants. Read further details before the bulldozers moved in. Fauna and Flora Pretoria News

SECOND GROUP OF HORTICULTURAL TRAINEES IN HEKPOORT

The Imbabali Horticultural Training College opened its doors in October 2005 to its first intake of Learnerships. The second group of ten students, ranging in age from 19 – 29, has been given the opportunity to gain a recognised horticultural qualification under the 18.2 Learnership grant from AgriSETA.

During the Learnership programme, in Plant Production Level 1, the students will also be exposed to Landscape Maintenance and Garden Design training.
They will also be practically trained in the use of a range of Horticultural equipment. The Learnership will be completed in December 2007 and it is hoped that students will gain positions in the Horticultural industry.

MANDATORY GRANTS

Approximately 1500 Mandatory Grant applications were received on 30 June 2007. A thank you, to all employers who submitted their applications. Our Finance department has begun with the approval process and should there be any queries, will contact you.

Also on our website are the guidelines regarding the Standard Operations Procedure (SOP) on the Classification of Employers with SETA and the Inter-SETA transfer of employers and Skills Levies, which was approved by the Director General of Labour on 15 May 2007.

The Inter-SETA Transfer form is used by an employer requesting the Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to be transferred from the SETA where the employer is currently classified, to another SETA. This form replaces Annexure B that was previously used to request the Commissioner to transfer an employer from one SETA to another. Employers must submit the form by fax or e-mail to the SETA where they are currently registered.

All information can be access on Agriseta > Levies and Grants or contact Amandie Gerber on amandie@agriseta.co.za

Contact:
Tel: (012) 325 1655
Fax: (012) 325 1677/24
Email: info@agriseta.co.za
Website: www.agriseta.co.za