One of the ways in which the university is contributing towards the development of a South African entrepreneurial base is through the Coachlab@Vaal programme.
As one of the only three sites in Gauteng offering students access to the CoachLab® youth skills development programme, the NWU’s campus in Vanderbijlpark represents a dynamic hub of entrepreneurial and leadership capacity building mentorship.
CoachLab@Vaal is managed by The Innovation Hub in collaboration with prominent industry partners, government and academia. The programme is committed to the development of a diverse skills base in the ICT, Engineering, Green and Media sectors and the aim is to instil business principles and the value of innovative and entrepreneurial thinking amongst participating students.
Recently, the Innovation Hub Management Company (SOC) Ltd (TIHMC) celebrated the success of 35 graduates of the Coachlab@Vaal programme at the Innovation Hub Conference Centre in Tswane. Students received recognition for not only successfully completing the CoachLab® programme, but also the Green Learnership Programme.
More about the CoachLab® programme
The CoachLab® programme which has been running for 16 years is a collaboration between The Innovation Hub (the innovation agency of the Gauteng province), MICT SETA, SITA, the Jobs Fund, the NWU and other industry partners. CoachLab® is currently operating from three sites in the Gauteng province, namely, CoachLab@Vaal (Vanderbijlpark), CoachLab@HUB in Tshwane – The Innovation Hub and CoachLab@JCSE which is based at the Johannesburg Centre for Software Engineering, in Johannesburg.
CoachLab® focuses on bridging the gap between academia and the demands of industry. The programme includes personal, leadership and professional development. The participants of the programme are introduced to project-based learning where the focus is on exposure and the application of project management principles in a real-time project environment.
In addition to this, all participants have access to personal coaching that focuses on grooming for optimum performance and value delivery. The industry partners allocate mentors who offer technical support and provide insight on projects that the participants would embark on.
More about the Green Learnership Programme
The Green Learnership Programme is a skills development programme that aims to develop learners and graduates within the green economy sector as an effort to reduce youth unemployment by generating work-force ready leaders and foster entrepreneurship.
TIHMC established the Green Economy Learnership Programme in 2014, with the aim to afford unemployed youth and graduates an opportunity to be exposed to entrepreneurial and work-readiness skills. The programme has had 50 participants since its establishment, who have successfully started new business or secured placement in industry.
* Coachlab@Vaal is situated within the bhive Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) and was established in 2014.
