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ORT SA kickstarts 21st-century skills training
In the mid-1980s, ORT South Africa and financial services company Liberty created the first computer centres at King David Linksfield and King David Victory Park schools. Thirty-five years later, ORT SA returned to the same King David Linksfield High School centre, but this time to bring 21st-century skills to pupils in Grades 8, 9 and 10.
“Pupils need to keep up to date with skills to cope with the changes that technology imposes on us,” says Ariellah Rosenberg, CEO of ORT SA.
“ORT SA is accredited as a Cisco Networking Academy – an IT skills and career-building programme for learning institutions and individuals worldwide – by the international group. We are teaching pupils the Cisco IT Essentials course, which provides them with a fundamental understanding and knowledge of how a computer works, what it consists of and how the operating systems function. This basic understanding can give a strong foundation to anyone who would like to pursue a career in information technology or just for interest.”
“ORT South Africa, as in ORT schools in 37 countries around the world, is focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) education. Bringing this technology to our Jewish schools is of utmost importance,” says Rosenberg. “We have been running Coding and Robotics courses in the Gauteng education department’s specialised school, as well as at schools in Alexandra, Soweto, Ivory Park and Mamelodi, with amazing results.”
Torah Academy pupils from Grades 8 to 11 will soon be introduced to the programme