Simon's Town school enrols first ten bursary students
THE FIRST ten beneficiaries of the Maritime Educational Training Board Forwarding and Clearing (METB:F&C) bursary programme have started their school year at the Simon's Town High School.
The METB (previously known as the MITB) has allocated R100 000 in total for bursaries.
Strong interest in maritime studies has seen more than 100 pupils enrolling for the two maritime studies courses introduced for matriculants at the school last year.
The courses provide land-based and seagoing skills, and are designed to equip matriculants with basic entry level competence for a career in the maritime industry. The land-based skills course is accredited by the METB:F&C as a stepping stone to forwarding.
Johannesburg-based International Trade Education (ITE) has donated video training material and workbooks to the school.
Taking advantage of the school's correspondence facility, which is backed by regular sessions of personal tuition, are eight pupils from other schools in the Peninsula.
Shaun Lake, director of ITE, which developed the video-based training module on import and export procedures, will give pupils a comprehensive idea of the whole process. This course is already accredited by the METB:F&C and is used as an introduction to the industry.
Pupils who pass the land-based skills course as a matric subject will be exempt from the pre-qualification tests for Customs Affairs and Forwarding Practice courses once they have gained two years industry experience.
