Enter your keyword

Skills Development

Priority element – must achieve 40% of points on scorecard
Skills Development (SD) is an important element of BEE as this is how we change the future of South Africa one person at a time. Skills Development points can be achieved by funding bursaries, internships and learnerships.

Bursaries (Category A)

  • One of Rays of Hope’s programmes – Ignition – supports young people through the selection of a tertiary qualification to complete, mentors them throughout the years of study, runs work readiness seminars and assists them to find a job.
  • These students therefore qualify for bursaries as well as study materials and text books, travel and accommodation.

Internships (Category B)

  • On completion of formal studies, a young person can start an internship. This involves a year of work experience at a company, related to the course of study just completed. The company usually pays for the final year of studies, having already selected the student and then employs the young person as an intern for 12 months. The intern is paid a monthly stipend.
  • Rays of Hope can assist with the placement of students in a company through the Ignition programme.

Learnerships (Category C)

  • A learnership is a training programme that combines theory at a college or training centre with relevant practice on-the-job. Young people are selected for a learnership, which usually involves 2 – 3 days of theory per month, and the rest of the month is for gaining practical experience. A learnership lasts for 12 months, and the young person receives a stipend each month.
  • Learnerships can be funded as hosted (at the company) or unhosted (the practical work is done somewhere else).
  • Funding of learnerships also attracts tax deductions of up to R80,000 on the successful completion of a learnership.
  • Rays of Hope will be running 20 learnerships in each of Auxillary Social Work and Early Childhood Development practitioner. These provide funding opportunities that will benefit the work that Rays of Hope is doing in Alexandra. These will be hosted by Rays of Hope and partner organisations in Alex.
  • In addition, Rays of Hope has partnered with a training provider to run learnerships in Business Administration and Fundamental IT skills, with learners from Alexandra. These also provide opportunities for partnership as they can be hosted or unhosted.