ORT is the IT thing to do
HOUGHTON – Nineteen students graduated from the programme which provided them with essential software and hardware knowledge.
Nineteen students who participated in the ORT South Africa information technology essentials programme graduated on 7 September.
ORT SA provides free educational programmes, and the information technology essential programme provides a comprehensive overview of software and hardware. The organisation aims to provide young people with essential computer knowledge and bridging courses which would enable the students to enter into fields involving computers or information technology.
The 19 students celebrated the graduation with thank-you speeches as well as song and dance. Their lecturer throughout the course Sarah Malape said the course was about opening up young minds to the potential of information technology.
Malape added, “It’s opening up everyone’s minds to restructure how they think about starting up a career as a repairer of computers or someone who can take a computer apart and put it together again, load software onto it and know how to deal with the technicalities of a computer.”
Floyd Lekobotja, one of the students involved in the programme, received the highest marks during the programme. “I enjoyed it very much and I feel excited about the future because I gained a lot of knowledge and skills and I feel I will get better work [opportunities].”
Lekobotja also received a recommendation letter due to his fantastic results.
Nine children of the orphanage, Acres of Love, participated in the programme. Lee Petit, of Acres of Love said, “It’s been so wonderful, they [children] raved about Sarah and they just absolutely loved it.
“I’m getting the four oldest [children] through their General Education Diploma’s and the younger ones are working towards that and these children were struggling a bit but I can’t actually believe the difference from the beginning of the year to now.”
All of the students involved in the programme also received a Cisco certificate. Cisco, which is a multinational technology company, provided certifications for Cisco products. The information technology essentials programme combines face to face learning with the Cisco online training programme.
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