Emfuleni Local Municipality partners with NetDimensions and LRMG to improve career opportunities in South African communities
NetDimensions and LR Management Group (LRMG) announced today that the Emfuleni Library and Information Service will provide free education and skills training to those who cannot afford college education in the Emfuleni municipality using NetDimensions Learning.
NetDimensions (AIM: NETD; OTCQX: NETDY), a global provider of performance, knowledge, and learning management systems, and LR Management Group (LRMG), NetDimensions’ official reseller in South Africa, announced today that the Emfuleni Library and Information Service will provide free education and skills training to those who cannot afford college education in the Emfuleni municipality using NetDimensions Learning.
According to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, local governments are in charge of the development process in municipalities and municipal planning. Emfuleni Local Municipality has the responsibility to work with communities to find sustainable ways to fulfill the communities’ social, economic, and material needs, as well as improve the quality of people’s lives.
“Through the Emfuleni Library and Information Service, Emfuleni Local Municipality hopes to eradicate poverty by encouraging lifelong learning within the community to create career and job opportunities,” said Marina Van Wyk, Manager of the Emfuleni Library and Information Service and winner of the LIASA (Library And Information Association of South Africa) 2013 Librarian of the Year.
The Emfuleni Library and Information Service established two eLearning centers at the Residensia Library and Sharpeville Library. Each eLearning center consists of ten computers with access to NetDimensions Learning in order to provide a selection of 30 Skillsoft online IT and business readiness courses.
High unemployment rates and computer literacy requirements in the workplace are driving the growth in demand for Emfuleni’s eLearning centers. “Some of the learners who completed the courses at our eLearning centers have been employed by companies such as Makro and PwC,” explained Van Wyk.
“Our staff and volunteers are not technology savvy, so we needed a Learning Management System that is extremely user friendly. NetDimensions Learning is easy to use, which contributes to the growing utilization of our eLearning centers.”
NetDimensions and LRMG also contributed to the success of the Emfuleni Local Municipality’s GRAP 17 project to create an inventory list and verify the content for more than 600,000 books in the Emfuleni libraries. This project was very labor intensive and required approximately 140 project members to fulfill the work. The eLearning centers were used to identify and train competent community members to staff the project.
John Downie, Channel and Alliance Director for EMEA at NetDimensions, said: “We are very pleased to see NetDimensions Learning enabling Emfuleni’s eLearning centers to deliver valuable training to the community, which in turn helps community members enhance their skills and find better jobs. NetDimensions and LRMG are contributing to Emfuleni Local Municipality’s initiatives to provide education, create more career opportunities, and improve the quality of life of its people.”
About Emfuleni Library and Information Service
Emfuleni Library and Information Service is preserving the past and securing the future by providing free access and guidance to information, which fulfills the intellectual, education, social and recreational needs of the people of Emfuleni in order to improve the quality of life. Emfuleni’s community libraries intend to act as development agents providing dynamic Library and Information Services to all the people of Emfuleni in their quest for lifelong learning, literacy, cultural expression, recreation, and economic development.
Visit http://www.emfuleni.gov.za
About The LR Management Group (LRMG)
LRMG is a 16-year-old performance agency that creates memorable experiences in management consulting, learning, talent and people technology. We empower people to dream it...believe it...do it! Our ‘performance’ element comes from our consulting and learning capability, which ensures that we empower organizations with the tools they need to reach their performance dreams. The ‘agency’ aspect relates to the creativity, ‘blow-up-the-box’ thinking, and unique flair that we thread through everything we do.
Visit http://www.lrmg.co.za/ for more information.