Uplifting West Coast Communities Through ECD Training

Eighteen Early Childhood Development (ECD) Practitioners, in the Saldanha Bay Municipal area, are being privately funded to receive accredited training, designed to upskill and improve formative education for young children, in preparation for formal schooling.

The 18-month qualification training programme, funded by Umoya Wind Farm and implemented in partnership with Grassroots Educare Trust, commenced last year and will run until September 2023. The aim of the programme is not only to improve the development of children and the quality of early childhood development and education in parts of the Western Cape, but also to stimulate job creation. “This Practitioner Qualification Training is one of the development initiatives to help children and ECD practitioners grasp the foundations and improve opportunities of education and job creation in our West Coast Communities. This qualification adds so much value to the advancement of the careers of ECD practitioners and an effective pathway for the future of our children,” said Amber Zeeman, Community Liaison Officer for Umoya Energy Wind Farm. Upon completion of the programme, which focuses on ‘Planning and Preparing for Early Childhood Development’, participants will obtain an NQF Level 4 Certificate in Early Childhood Development. As a result of the upcoming merge of the Department of Social Development and the Department of Basic Education, all practitioners will require a formal qualification. “I am honoured and privileged to be a part of this programme. This training has opened my eyes to the world of Early Childhood Development and the importance of this foundation phase. The programme has given me the knowledge, confidence, and inspiration I need to open my own ECD centre,” concluded Winnifred de Koker, one of the programme participants.