In a bid to address the logistics industry skills deficit and attract more school leavers to the industry, Gauteng-based specialist freight and logistics training company, Metro Minds, has launched a new GAP year programme. “The programme focuses on exposing school leavers to the different disciplines of any business, aiming to ignite a new thinking process with exposure to problem-solving, decision-making and serving the larger society – the soft skills that school leavers are not exposed to during their secondary education,” says Metro Minds CEO, Juliette Fourie.
The GAP year was designed to provide school leavers with a choice of careers in the freight and logistics industry, as well as expose them to the realities of the workplace, and highlight opportunities in new venture development, says Fourie.“The GAP year is followed by a simulated industry-related qualification which focuses on industry-specific qualifications.” She says the simulation portion of the course is completed within a consecutive three-month period following direct exposure to the workplace.
Fourie points out that Metro Minds has been encouraging companies to look at simulation solutions for graduates entering their workplace to fill the gap between the academic and theoretical knowledge they have and the lack of industry knowledge, decision-making, problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Largely based on its simulation programmes, Metro Minds has, to date, won three innovation awards. “We continue to invest in new and innovative ways to implement better learning solutions,” says Fourie, noting that its new offering includes an interactive digital learning experience which incudes simulation.
“We recognise that people want to be exposed to self-taught processes but still experience something practical with valuable human engagement.” Fourie adds that the online and digital experiences are an extension of Metro Minds’ learning methodologies. “It does not replace our popular contact sessions but, instead, becomes part of our accelerated learning process,” she says.
