Sinazo Rodolo is a young adult who had the courage to embark on a journey of obtaining a Higher Certificate in Human Resources without being a full-time student. How rewarding it must have been to hear from her employer, “Now that you have completed your course, I want you to take over and manage”.
No one would understand better than Sinazo, the sacrifices, and perseverance that were required in order to achieve success. This is summed up in her own words, “I had to stand all day, backache, sore feet, and I had to study”. While there can be no doubt that Sinazo’s success was largely due to her own determination and hard work, there are also other factors that contributed to this heartwarming story.
It is accepted Educational theory that organisational support and relevance are two important factors in contributing to the success of adult learners. In Sinazo’s case, a visit to Facebook led to a personalised call from an iQA consultant, guiding and encouraging her to take the next step. This one-on-one contact with prospective students illustrates the high level of organisational support that is provided on a daily basis by iQA. Through consultation with iQA, Sinazo was easily able to align her chosen qualification to her work environment, thereby ensuring that her studies were relevant to her career path.
“The organisational support offered by iQA is characterised by an easy learning environment, with an online learning portal, a flexible learning experience and affordable payment plans.”
By offering a range of work-related business courses (Business Management, Finance, Marketing, and Human Resources), iQA ensures relevance for both the student and the employer that will ultimately benefit from the skills learned.
Another success factor is the encouragement and support Sinazo received from her employer, a small/micro-enterprise. Sinazo recalls, “My boss encouraged me to study more, hard”, and she was released for assignments and examinations. Conventional thinking places the burden of educating and developing staff on medium and large businesses, but this story shows how even small businesses can benefit from developing their staff and utilising the new skills that become available as the organisation prospers and grows.
In order for others to succeed, society needs to elevate the importance of obtaining a qualification. In Sinazo’s case, the idea of a qualification may never have taken root if a stranger had not recounted her own story of starting as a maid and progressing by furthering her education through iQA. Placing a high value on education at a grassroots level will have enormous positive implications for society in general. For Sinazo, she can confidently state, “I wasn’t born rich, but I won’t die poor”. One has to wonder what legacy she, in turn, will one day leave, and how much more future generations will benefit, for they will not start out poor.
Although Sinazo learned much through her studies at iQA, she would have also learned the importance of education in enabling one to progress in the work environment, with all the accompanying benefits.
“I’m still going far, the future is bright”
The Sinazo story can be summed up in her own words, “I’m still going far, the future is bright”. No doubt, there will not only be a sequel to this story, but also similar stories will emerge, as others expand their horizons through the opportunities offered by iQA.
