Empowering the community with digital skills
By: Nontobeko Moimane 28 March 2022
Mr Mokhethi Vinger, the recently appointed Manager at Emfuleni Shelter for Boys (ESfB) and Dr Johan van der Westhuizen from the VUT’s Logistics & Supply Chain Management Department.
The Vaal University of Technology (VUT) is committed to community engagement. This was demonstrated recently, when Dr Johan van der Westhuizen from the Logistics & Supply Chain Management Department provided a Management Coaching service to Mr Mokhethi Vinger, the recently appointed Manager at Emfuleni Shelter for Boys (ESfB).
For Dr van der Westhuizen, the purpose of the community engagement initiative is twofold:
- Firstly, as part of his deliverables, he is expected to have engagement with external stakeholders and/or communities
- Secondly, Dr van der Westhuizen believes that as an academic and a public servant, he should be involved in the upliftment of communities in VUT’s neighbourhood.
He chose the ESfB shelter due to the existing relationship and involvement of the department over a period of eight years, as well as the shelter’s proximity to VUT.
For the shelter, the Logistics & Supply Chain Management department has identified community education interventions such as mobile and digital literacy training, career coaching, entrepreneurial and green supply chain workshops. As part of this project, the department will present and facilitate the transfer of these skills to empower boys and staff at the shelter.
“These skills will give them an advantage and confidence in using digital skills going forward as part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR),” said Dr van der Westhuizen.
A series of workshops commenced on Saturday, 19 March 2022 and was facilitated by Unathi Pendu from the E-skills department. The aim of this particular workshop was to offer digital skills to empower learners and staff to use various Microsoft programmes. On Wednesday, 23 March VUT donated five (5) desktop computers to the shelter.
According to Dr van der Westhuizen, ” we contribute to the upskilling of members of this community as part of our community engagement project. One feels happy and satisfied to see the willingness of learners and staff to pick up some new skills that will empower them to advance in life.”