Programme aims to empower Midrand students

Ivory Park’s very own Lethabo Seerane aims to encourage young men and women through her journey in her engineering career and her work in contributing to making learning fun and easy.

Born in Ivory Park, Seerane later moved to Mpumalanga where she did her primary education before moving back to Ivory Park. After school, she completed an Electrical Infrastructure and Construction course at Ekurhuleni West College.

Thereafter, she enrolled in an apprenticeship under the Dual System Pilot Programme which is funded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, a German organisation trying to address unemployment and the shortage of skills in South Africa. Through the organisation, Seerane and eight of her colleagues were able to establish Qiniso, a free virtual learning content platform.

Explaining how she became part of Qiniso, Seerane said she had wanted nothing to do with engineering but rather desired to be involved in the modelling and beauty industry. But after three years of studying and another three years apprenticeship, she found herself being part of a team that created virtual learning material.

“It is unusual to see female electricians as there are fewer women who see the opportunity of being in this field, but women are key and primary users of electricity. I have always been a handy girl, designing clothes, braiding and weaving hair as well as sewing doormats using plastic,” she explained.

“Here in Ivory Park, people have lost their lives due to improper and illegal electricity connections. I wanted to be part of the people who work with electricity. I just felt the need to be an electrician.”

Today, Seerane finds herself changing the lives of learners, especially in a country where many graduates struggle to get experience and find jobs in their respected fields. Through their organisation located in Tembisa, they can make learning content available which is aimed at students who are at further education and training level and at community colleges.

“Our content is available through the Department of Higher Education and Training. As former students, we know the areas that students will struggle with and our learning material focuses on practical ways to understand the learning areas.

“With its virtual ‘tours’ using 360-degree pictures and adding learning content in the tours, students can access the learning material from their classrooms or from home at any time.”

Details: Follow Qiniso on social media platforms using Qiniso on Facebook, and @QinisoVirtual on Twitter.