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Agrippa Nkambule,
a 50-year-old site administrator working on
contract, realised that without skills in the
use of a computer he would fast become a man
without a future. His company needs people with
computer skills and the ability to grow with
technology. Sound familiar – some people even
younger than Agrippa are faced with the same
problem.
Lucky for
Agrippa, Bomar Projects, a South African tunnel
construction company working in SA, Swaziland,
Zimbabwe and Botswana, believes in developing
its people. Agrippa’s first project with Bomar
was the Maguga Dam diversion tunnel in
Swaziland. A more current project is the Tswane
Metropolitan Council Sewage tunnel, a project
where a site administrator without computer
skills would simply not cope with the workload.
Agrippa says that
since he has acquired computer skills, the
volume of administrative work has reduced and
the quality and speed of his output has
increased. All that is needed is on the
computer, says Agrippa, and it has made work
easier and lighter. According to Tertia
Pietromartire who is responsible for human
resources at Bomar Projects, Agrippa is also
returning to the office from site with
increasingly sophisticated spreadsheets. He is
developing his own skills by leaps and bounds.
He is also designing his own systems to assist
him in his work, which as a site administrator
involves general administration, buying and
human resource administration. He is no longer a
man without a future – he is a man who is part
of the Bomar Projects “family” and will be able
to grow with the company with each new project.
We can all learn from this success story.
Agrippa says that
Knowledge Network is the institution responsible
for his success story in computers. Bomar
selected Knowledge Network for the training
because from their web site it “looked like they
could do the job” and do the job they did.
Agrippa attended the
Computers for Beginners
course and the MS Office Integrated Computing
Course. “The Knowledge Network mentors developed
a love of computers in me, they made me an
independent thinker when working with computers
and a person who is able to solve problems.
Initially I thought that maybe I would not
understand the course because of my education,
or because I am a slow learner, or because of
terminology, but there were no stumbling blocks
for me. I was afraid of nothing and I was going
with the course asking questions all the time. I
was at home even in the very first hour.”
“I had never had
the opportunity before to attend a computer
course. A human being needs confidence in order
to do something. The methodology used by
Knowledge Network builds a foundation of
confidence with computers. The first thing I
learned was to control the mouse and the
computer. That was my starting point and very
quickly I was working with figures in Excel and
then typing. You also work in groups and share
so I could also see what other people
understood. You get project pages with the
course. I worked on the project pages during the
course and continued to work with them after the
course. I still have the project pages and am
even going to work through them with my kids. If
the kids had this at school there would not be
such a high failure rate. The foundation that
Knowledge Network gives you is very, very
strong. I am now working as an old hand in the
field”, says Agrippa.
The Computers for
Beginners course is 4 mornings, and the MS
Office Integrated Computing course is 5
mornings. Both courses are project- and
goal-oriented. The methodology used by Knowledge
Network for courses is
ILAMM (Integrated
learning and mentoring methodology) developed by
managing director of Knowledge Network, Jil D
Hrdliczka in 1994. The course content includes
spreadsheeting, word processing, electronic
research, communication and presentations as
well as handling the environment and printing.
“After the course
I worked on the project pages, even going into
the office on a Saturday and a Sunday so that I
would be able to work completely on my own in
the site office when I went onto the site. I did
get a book but did not read much – work had
piled up and I had to handle orders, plan the
site work, do time sheets and other admin. There
was no time for reading a book and, in any case,
I found that I did not need it. I am also able
to develop myself and produce more and more on
computer. In my office, I now have my computer
and printer and the work gets done – its easier
and lighter to do the work.”
“For other people
like me embarking on training like this –
training is different for adult students. For a
person of my age, there is a purpose in
learning, you do not go on courses to “play”,
its serious and you need courage and vigour. I
thank Knowledge Network – the course was an eye
opener for me, the course has created a number
of opportunities that I never thought of.
Thank
you to Bomar Projects for getting training
through Knowledge Network, I wish other
companies could follow in their footsteps. I
also hope that Knowledge Network staff continue
to do their wonderful good work for the nation.”
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