Department hopes to sign up more candidates for MDP

History was recently made as the Department of Management and Project Management capped its first cohort of students, graduating under the new programme which is named the Management Development Programme (MDP).

The Department of Management and Project Management designed a short course programme as a third-stream income with the assistance of the Centre for Professional and Personal Development (CPPD). Acting Head of the Department of Management and Project Management, Nobuhle Luphondo, says the programme has been designed according to Council on Higher Education (CHE) guidelines, to allow candidates who completed the programme successfully to articulate into Diploma in Management via Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). Luphondo says the programme has been aligned with the mainstream Diploma in Management outcomes so that candidates can apply for credits via RPL when applying to articulate into the mainstream programme. The programme is administered through the SCOE of the Graduate Centre for Management, the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences’ (FBMS) short course entity.

“The MDP aims to equip practicing managers and supervisors with knowledge and applied competencies in the fields of: Management; Financial Management; Project Management & Industrial Relations and Labour Law,” she remarks. The first cohort of 20 candidates was funded by Education, Training and Development Practices (ETDP) SETA. This group started with classes in January 2022 and completed last exams in November 2022.

Addressing the graduates, motivational speaker and Learning and Development Manager, Shahieda Hendricks said: “You’re the first group to complete this programme, with all the hard work and sacrifices, you didn’t give up. That gives us joy to do our job. And I am very proud that you came this far… And you can be proud that you actually pulled through. You need to say to yourself, well done. Don’t stop here, never stop learning. You will achieve great things in life.”

Luphondo says the event was the certificate ceremony to celebrate the successful completion of the programme for the candidates. “They had to sacrifice three hours to four days a week, for 10 months to complete the programme. It was not easy; the programme is very comprehensive, but the candidates were resilient until the end.”

She says the highlights of the event was to see the candidates so excited to receive the certificates, and that their partners attended to celebrate this success with them.

“They could see that the three hours was worth it after all.”

She also mentions that programme had its challenges since it was the first cohort. “We had teething issues, but these candidates were committed and dedicated to completing the programme. Some may be applying for Diploma in Management via RPL. We are looking forward to mentor them until they complete the Diploma,” she continues.

“It was the first of its kind, and we hope to sign up more candidates for the programme. We are now completing the Printing SA cohort group as well; and they will graduate in July 2023. The department is working hard to get more requests from industries.”

Written by Aphiwe Boyce
Email: boyceap@cput.ac.za