Jobs change. Technologies change. Industries change. And, over time, the skills you had when you started your career – though still useful – gradually become either outdated or irrelevant. That’s why lifelong learning is so important, and it’s why Wits University recently relaunched its reconfigured Wits Plus, which consolidates short courses from across the university.

‘The world of work is shifting,’ says Natalie Zimmelman, CEO of Wits Plus. ‘From the perspective of a professional who wants to build on their existing qualifications and skills, it requires more responsiveness, flexibility and agility than our university ecosystems – which are scheduled for three-year degree time frames – are typically able to address.’

Wits Plus offers an accessible solution, with hundreds of short courses in everything from engineering and architecture, to business management, construction, health sciences, law, languages, real estate and property, and much more.

These short courses cater to individuals aged 18 and up, including seasoned executives, new professionals and even retirees. Group offerings are also available for business teams. And while many of the courses are highly specialised and require advanced NQF qualifications, Wits Plus also offers beginner courses that require only a National Senior Certificate.

FOUR MANDATES

As a wholly owned subsidiary of the university, Wits Plus has four key mandates. ‘The first is part of the Wits 2033 Vision, which is to promote lifelong learning,’ she says. ‘That’s the social heart of the university and Wits’ primary objective: to share knowledge and promote ongoing engagement in a learning pathway.’

The second is to generate new income for the university to fund its teaching, learning and research, and to relieve the growing pressure on its council budget.

‘The third mandate is to increase Wits Plus’ offerings,’ says Zimmelman. ‘You would think that that’s the same as making money or promoting lifelong learning, but it’s more about being responsive to what industry needs and providing a place where those offerings can be created.’

The fourth mandate is, as Zimmelman puts it, to ‘standardise, rationalise and modernise’ the learning offering. ‘Wits has an extensive and demanding quality assurance [QA] process – even for short courses,’ she says.

‘We’re proud of that and it should never change. But in the past, it did make it difficult to move things forward. A short course concept could take years to get through our QA process and, therefore, it might die a natural death because it took too long to finalise, for example.’

Wits Plus helps to administer the QA process and standardise the expectations, but Zimmelman emphasises that it is not a decision-maker. ‘The commercial company, which is what we are, should never be a quality assurance decision-maker,’ she says. ‘The QA process sits firmly within the university ecosystem.’

Added to that, universities – like so many organisations – can be siloed, which creates duplication and fragmentation. Wits had the same problem.

‘We’d have multiple project management courses, for example,’ she says. ‘Project management for construction, project management for business, project management for this and for that. Wits Plus solves that by bringing it all under one roof and ensuring the most relevant courses are offered.’

AGILE AND RELEVANT

Wits was established as a full university in 1922 and traces its roots to the South African School of Mines, founded in Kimberley in 1896. It has a long history as one of Africa’s leading tertiary education institutions and an extensive library of approved courses and qualifications.

Take mining, for example. In mid-April, Wits Plus had 138 courses open for enrolment, 31 of which were in mining (including Mine Planning Principles, and Fundamentals of Occupational Health and Safety in Mining). But if you expand that to include available courses that didn’t yet have start dates, the list goes up to 48. And, if you include approved courses that aren’t yet available on Wits Plus, the list goes up to 117 for the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment. ‘And that is just the active courses,’ says Zimmelman.

‘Across Wits Plus, we have more than 600 active courses across languages, law, accounting, engineering and so on. And there are around 6 000 in our system that are approved, but not yet available through Wits Plus. The depth and breadth of short courses within the Wits University ecosystem is far more than many people imagine.’

The trick, though, is to offer learning and professional development courses that are relevant for today’s world of work. ‘And tomorrow’s,’ adds Zimmelman. ‘Our courses are substantial and developed based on our research into the future, so that what we offer stays current for longer.’

To ensure real-world relevance, Wits Plus has enabled a quick, six- to eight-week QA and approval process through the university for new courses. ‘Two months may sound like a long time in the business world, but in the university ecosystem – where a degree can take no less than three years to develop – eight weeks is miraculous,’ says Zimmelman.

‘The university’s short course sub-committee meets and reviews new short courses on a monthly basis, but before that the course will already have gone through the relevant school and faculty.’

FLEXIBLE SUPPORT

Wits Plus currently runs 300 to 400 courses per year, with new intakes occurring regularly. Courses are offered in flexible formats, including on-site, face-to-face learning, online classes and blended learning (face-to-face with online support). New courses are introduced regularly as the Wits faculty develops relevant qualifications and micro-credentials that address modern industry needs.

‘Our key focus is the same as the university’s,’ says Zimmelman. ‘That is, to be agile, responsive, current and relevant – and to bring to bear the unbelievable IP that sits within this megalithic ecosystem. Learning is not linear; it’s lifelong.’

+27 (0)11 717 4208
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www.witsplus.ac.za