Life Healthcare hosted a career day for learners of Nomzamo High School at Somerset College as part of its three-year funding commitment to supporting the Somerset College Saturday School on Wednesday 6 April.
The Saturday School, run by Somerset College, contributes to bridging the education gap within South Africa’s educational system, where learners receive mathematics core and literacy lessons in a team teaching setting for parallel teacher development. The career day contributes to addressing the shortage of medical skills in the country.
“The career day aimed to empower Nomzamo High learners with knowledge and information to further assist them in carving their future studies and career plans out,” explained Adam Pyle, CEO of Life Healthcare.
“However, it is also one of the ways in which we can address the shortage of medical skills in South Africa, by encouraging learners to consider a career in the health sector.”
The Saturday School learners heard from a panel of Life Healthcare executives and senior managers about some of the career opportunities in the industry including medicine, nursing, pharmacy, engineering and hospital management.
“As part of our commitment to supporting the Saturday School for the next three years, we believe that empowering learners with knowledge about careers in healthcare will assist them in their career aspirations and motivate them to study hard to be able to enter tertiary studies in these fields,” said Pyle.
“SA has a dire shortage of nursing skills and Life Healthcare is committed to addressing this issue through training of nurses at our Life College of Learning however, nursing is not the only career for learners to consider in the industry. Our country also needs more doctor specialists and hospital pharmacists to be able to ensure quality care is available to South African citizens.”
Hospital management and clinical engineering may not be considered as traditional vocations, he added, but that these fields along with legal studies are some of the other areas that also make a hospital run efficiently. “There are numerous career opportunities in healthcare and if the health-care sector is to collaborate towards universal health care for all South Africans,” Pyle said. “We need to play our part in preparing future health-care professionals and leaders to be ready to provide the necessary skills and services.”
Several other careers days will be hosted throughout the three-year funding period of the programme which is focused on Grade 12 learners this year.
The initiative will include Grade 11 and 12 learners next year, Grade 10 learners to be added in 2024.
For more information about Life Healthcare, the careers available and the Life College of Learning, visit www.lifehealthcare.co.za. For more information on Somerset College’s Saturday School, go to www.somersetcollege.org/saturday-school.
