Alan Northover – UNISA

The GetOn-Unisa community outreach project began in early 2015 and has grown from strength to strength since then. The goal of the GetOn-Unisa COP is to empower GetOn students to succeed in the workplace by supplementing GetOn’s skills training and motivational classes with the specialised knowledge, skills and experience of Unisa’s academic volunteers. Unisa’s collaboration with GetOn therefore involves the further collaboration between various departments within Unisa. Staff from Afrikaans and Theory of Literature and from English Studies are involved in the language, literacy and job seeking programmes. Staff from Information Science and Biblical and Ancient Studies participate in the GetOn Library development programme. These two programmes are complementary, since an important aim is to inspire in students the love of reading, as improved literacy levels contribute to workplace success at higher levels. We, the lecturers, also strive to strengthen the GetOn students’ self-confidence by improving their language and literacy skills. In turn, we are inspired by the efficiency and dedication of the GetOn staff and by the students’ motivation and desire to succeed. We welcome the opportunity to interact with students face-to-face and look forward to continuing this valuable collaboration with the GetOn Skills Development Centre into the future.