If you thought that you were done with school, think again. There’s a hot new trend catching on: winter schools. They can give your business the edge.
By Craig Falck for Africa Report.
Photograph: © Dmitriy Shironosov | Dreamstime.com
In the past, winter schools were tools used by education institutions and businesses to assist students with extra lessons (to catch up with missed lectures) and give them an extra scoop of education (for complex theories and information). That’s changed and winter schools are now used by businesses, schools and universities to give learners and employees a broader knowledge base and even a platform to fast-track job sourcing.
Rand Merchant Bank, for example, runs an annual winter school in July, where Honours and Masters students from commerce, business science, mathematics, accounting and finance study fields are taken into the enterprise. They are then allocated to departments matching their field of study, and these students gain invaluable insight and knowledge into how the industry works and how the “real world” operates through their “job shadowing”. As an added incentive for the interns to apply their minds and skills and perform, RMB have made this winter school programme a feeder system for their Graduate Programme. It’s a head-hunter project that will find new employees who meet the business’s requirements.
Winter schools, by nature, are far smaller than regular classes and lecture periods are often shorter. This means that employees can be sent on these courses without missing too much work and they will be able to enjoy a closer relationship with their teacher. This sort of almost one-on-one environment makes it easier for the lecturer to get through the curriculum and attendees feel more comfortable asking questions in front of a smaller group, especially where case studies are involved.
Standard Bank offers winter schools where applicants are brought in-house and get to work on case studies and career-building workshops where they also interact with past graduates. This allows them to chat to people who were in their shoes once and have been given a push in the right direction career-wise by attending these programmes.
Winter schools are more than just ways to catch up on education. They’re about gaining career insight and knowledge that will help young students develop as people and members of the working community when they enter the workforce.
