Who is BSDC?

BSDC

Learning is Doing is Being

What is the BSDC?

The BSDC is a Section 21 Company, incorporated not for gain. Since 1987, the BSDC has been offering training in office administration, business management and entrepreneurship to the disadvantaged community. In particular, the BSDC focuses on women (not to the exclusion of men), to improve their employability in the private and public sector. The BSDC consists of two divisions, namely, the training division that delivers the courses and a Youth Advisory/Placement Division.

How is the BSDC managed?

Cathy Clarke: Board Member & Projects Manager Click here to view Cathy’s video clip

The day-to-day management of the training campus is the responsibility of a Centre Manager. The Centre Manager is answerable to a Board of Directors, who meets every second month. In addition, the finance committee meets regularly and consults the auditors for advice. The BSDC also employs an education coordinator who manages the educators who deliver the content of the different courses. The Youth Advisory/Placement Division is under the control of the Centre Manager with two fulltime staff. A Board of Directors supports the BSDC.

What is the aim of the BSDC?

From the mission statement, it is clear that the BSDC has as its primary focus to ‘develop each student to his/her full potential’ so that the individual may be enabled to, either find meaningful employment in a business environment or be in a position to become economically active through the development of entrepreneurial skills. The BSDC achieves this aim through offering a range of courses that enables the students to have a better chance of becoming economically active. The BSDC also assists the students through its Youth Advisory/Placement Division to find employment.

Is there a need for the BSDC?

BSDC was established out of desperate need to play a role in addressing grave inequalities in the South African economic landscape. This need has not significantly changed. In truth, in the current socio-economic climate the necessity for a programme that assists people to become economically active is as important as ever. Unemployment is rising and economic conditions for many people in the greater Cape Town area are deteriorating. The need for an organisation like the BSDC has not diminished. Measured against many different criteria and through continuous internal and external critical evaluations the BSDC was found to be successful in achieving its mission and objectives.

What are our Critical Success Factors?

The major critical success factors of the BSDC are our holistic and eclectic approach to learning and teaching, practical work-experience component of our courses and last but not least, our after-care service offered to our graduates.

Learning and Teaching Approach

BSDC offers their learners a holistic integrated courses which is based on the philosophy of learning is doing is being. Our lifeskills programme forms an integral part of all the BSDC learning programmes because we view our learners to be complex individuals with conflicting desires or beliefs between their conscious and unconscious minds that could influence their ability or willingness to learn. We believe that learners and facilitators need to work through psychological conflicts in order for effective learning to take place. Furthermore, as educators we use an eclectic mix of teaching and learning methodologies by selecting and using concepts and principles, which will best assure that specific learning goals and objectives are met. We consciously design learning experiences in a supportive climate for learning. We acknowledge that learning takes place in all spheres of life, be it socially, academically, culturally, etc, and that people learn differently, meaning that what works for the one/group might not work for the next one/group hence the need for continual change/adaptations of learning strategies and materials.

Practical Work Experience Component/Workshadow

One of the critical success factors of BSDC since its inception is the practical work experience component that it offers to its learners at the end of their course. The strength of our 5-week workshadow programme is borne out of BSDC’s long standing history and relationships with various organisations in the private and public sector as well as NGO’s. The mentors and their organisations are the very people in industry that we test the relevance and appropriateness of the skills, knowledge and attitudes taught on our courses. The students have the opportunity to test their skills, be given thorough feedback and gain experience for use once they have graduated. For our young entrepreneurs, this time in the small and medium sized businesses where they were placed showed them the necessity of being versatile and willing to put their hand to anything.

Youth Advisory and Placement Centre (YAC)/Aftercare Services Offered

The BSDC is most fortunate to have a division that caters for advising people who are looking for jobs and placing them in employment. This has been our best-kept secret and our competitive and comparative advantage over the years.

The YAC is sustaining the outcomes of BSDC by providing:

• Ongoing mentorship for small businesses after they have left the centre
• Access to internet, email and computerised accounting for small businesses to enhance efficiency.
• Topical workshops on a monthly basis for small businesses.
• One-on-one directed, problem-solving coaching for small businesses
• Sponsored vouchers to be given to all ex-student entrepreneurs for additional small business courses.
• Additional computer, business skills, life skills and call centre training for ex-students to increase their skills.
• Youth Advisory Centre provides counselling and runs weekly workshops for any ex-students needing help in CV preparation, interview skills, and confidence building.
• New corporate partners continually brought in to assist with outings, guest speakers and provide workshops on relevant topics both for current and ex-students.

What courses are offered?

In the actualisation of the mission statement and in the achievement of its aim the BSDC offers the following learning programmes:

What is the duration of a course?

The courses are offered on a fulltime basis over a one-year period with one intake per year.

The BSDC courses are:

• Relevant
• Integrated
• Holistic
• Practical
• Affordable
• Student centred
• Market related

How do we look at trends and keep abreast with development?

BSDC’s work is informed by our interaction and information sharing with:

• Networking with our friends and partners in industry, for example our joint evaluation workshops and feedback sessions with our mentors on the skills needed on the job for our workshadow programme. By having close relations with various recruitment and placement agencies as well as similar organisations to us.

• Through participating in forums such as the Services Seta, Black Management Forum, Menngos, Business Referral And Information Network, Business Opportunity Network, Red Door Programme, Small Business Week, Board of Executives Business Chamber, etc.

• By subscribing to e-journals and other forms of media, such as The Skills Portal, SAQA Update, Big News for Small Business, Wesgro, etc.

What are our teaching and learning statement of values?

BSDC aims to produce graduates with an appreciation of the practical, social and ethical dimensions of their chosen fields and with the skills and knowledge to operate effectively in culturally diverse workplaces within changing global and social contexts.

To achieve this, BSDC has developed an educational model built on a broad and holistic concept of learning. It productively combines the intellectual rigour of disciplinary knowledge, skills and attitudes with professional and personal skills, ideas and approaches developed through engagement with professional practice and the community.

BSDC supports and enhances teaching and learning through a flexible and dynamic approach, which is expressed through stimulating teaching, the effective use of technology and an information rich environment. In addition to the more traditional curriculum practices, all BSDC students experience a range of opportunities to engage in learning interventions in the community and workplace. This enables the development of skills and attributes of relevance and value to their chosen fields and to South African society.

BSDC demonstrates its commitment to improving quality teaching and learning through academic staff development initiatives and other improvement initiatives informed by constructive self-criticism, self-improvement, regular student feedback surveys and an annual review of course performance.

What were the challenges and success we experienced during the accreditation process?

The Services SETA ETQA (SETQAA) has awarded BSDC provisional accreditation as a training provider. The SETQAA definition of this is as follows:

……the status attained after the SETQAA evaluation has found that a Provider of education and training has met the eight core criteria as specified by SAQA. And all learning programme(s) are aligned with registered NQF unit standards and/or qualifications.

SETQAA

The provisional accreditation status as a training provider is a significant achievement for BSDC. A considerable amount of work has gone into ensuring that all aspects of the programme are unit standard aligned. It should be noted that this status is granted for a period of two years, at the end of which the training provider’s status is reviewed. Assuming that all is in order, and it has recorded and reported learner results to the SETQAA, it will be granted full accreditation status, usually for a period of five years. This is defined as follows:

… the status attained after SETQAA monitoring has found that a Provider of education and training deliver quality education and training in line with all the criteria specified by SAQA and SETQAA and the provider recorded learner achievements against registered unit standards and qualifications, and SETQAA approved Certificates of competence had been issued to learners.

SETQAA

BSDC has submitted an application for an extension of scope to ensure inclusion of all its learning programmes. Our educators have already prepared their assessment plans for their learning areas and related unit standards.

Our of educators’ assessor portfolios demonstrates their ability to facilitate learners’ achievement of the specific outcomes in the various unit standards, and to assess them in terms of the appropriate criteria. The assessor portfolios are well-developed tools and rubrics for measuring learners’ performance.

Consequently, the considerable amount of effort put into the learning programmes, during 2005 has established a firm foundation on which to build. SETQAA is still to do a site visit. Among the documentation that the SETQAA will want to see are the plans for each unit of learning (the equivalent of lesson plans), as well as the resource material on which the educators draw for each of their sessions.

The entire accreditation process has been a learning and developmental experience for us. This is evident in having our learning programmes unit standards aligned, all our educators being accredited assessors and two of them being accredited internal moderators.

The accreditation process has also had its fair share of frustrations as we experienced tardiness on the part of the Services Seta, a lack of mentorship and guidance from SSETA staff, a change in unit standards and unit standards numbers and at times receiving conflicting guidance. Nonetheless, we are still finding the experience empowering and view it as an absolute necessity as we always strive to deliver quality, relevant, transferable and recognised learning programmes to our learners.

How is the BSDC funded?

The BSDC is committed to provide training for disadvantaged members of the broader community to develop the necessary office and business skills to become economically active in various ways, at the lowest possible cost. Almost without exception, the BSDC students do not have the financial means to pay market related prices for business and office-oriented courses. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the BSDC to seek donor funding in order to make the programme available to students at a heavily subsidised rate. This is made possible through the generous funding from donor agencies and general sponsorships. What are the opportunities for individuals and/or organisations to get involved in the BSDC?

Our sponsorship strategy is to target individuals, public and private companies, local and global concerns to assist us in realising our mission. The opportunities for sponsorships are to:

• Provide funding/grants towards the administration cost of BSDC
• Dedicate time and knowledge and become involved as a Board member of the BSDC
• Donate obsolete stock
• Invest in a Course, which could be branded.
• Invest in the development of course materials
• Adopt a learner
• Provide technology equipment for the Centre
• Offer of partnership in Education-for-Employment project
• Empower people to take advantage of employment and business opportunities
• Donate redundant office furniture and equipment

What are the benefits for our sponsors/partners?

1. Unique opportunity to be part of our learning programmes that provide a solution to the shortage of skilled labour, especially in the light of the employment equity legislation, national human resource development strategy and unemployment.

2. Cost effective opportunity to employ new members of staff and to obtain employment equity in your company. BSDC has a placement department that will gladly assist you.

3. Opportunity to use the Development Skills Training programme as a marketing tool for the company. BSDC will agree for you to use the title of Official Sponsor of BSDC.

4. Added value for your money by making use of the taxation benefit to all our sponsors. BSDC has Section 18A status, which makes any financial donation fully tax deductible.

5. Right to provide the students with promotional material that can include pens, files T-shirts and any other advertising material.

6. Advertising opportunity on BSDC documents as per agreement.

BSDC is interested in developing and strengthening relationships with corporate sponsors. We are offering partnerships in our ventures to CSI practitioners and other role-players.