Functional Skills 

In his State of the Nation address on 20th February 2011, President Zuma focused strongly on the need for job creation in South Africa. At the core of this are six areas that the government is specifically addressing, all of which are functional skills.

Functional refers to a focus on mechanical, rather than conceptual, skills. Functional Training, therefore, assists employees to acquire the skills they need to perform a job with a technical or practical orientation.

These skills cut across all levels and industries and range from playing professional sport to controlling air traffic, operating an assembly line, shunting trains, processing bank credit card applications, growing tomatoes and writing reports.

Institutions of higher education, including Universities of Technology and accredited private providers such as Connemara, work together to offer functional skills development as contained in the National Qualifications Framework, often at levels 2 to 5. Connemara offers both accredited generic short courses and full customised qualifications. These allow learners the opportunity to either earn credits towards a qualification over 18 to 24 months, or to sharpen their skills on specific aspects on a shorter term basis.