Reflective Essay: Pieter van Ellewee - Advise and Counsel Learners

This reflective essay, written by Pieter van Ellewee, a Training and HR Manager at Rampar Trading, details his experiences and insights into learner support and training programs. The essay begins with an introduction to his role and qualifications, including his experience as a facilitator and his involvement in conducting training programs for various staff levels. It emphasizes the importance of the facilitator-student relationship and the benefits of learner support, such as addressing individual needs, receiving direct feedback, and fostering collaboration among learners. The essay discusses the drivers for Education, Training, and Development (ETD) in South Africa and outlines the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with learner support programs. A significant portion of the essay focuses on two specific learners, Lucy Mathuloane Kumane and Lennox Mkhonto, detailing the challenges they faced due to their educational backgrounds and the tailored training approaches employed to support their learning. The essay highlights the application of Critical Cross-Field Outcomes (CCFOs), particularly communication, critical thinking, and teamwork, in enhancing the learners' skills. The author reflects on what he has learned from the course, the importance of counseling, and how he plans to implement these learnings in the future, emphasizing the creation of a supportive environment for staff. The essay concludes with advice for peers, a description of his findings, and recommendations for providing extra support to the learners.

REFLECTIVE ESSAY – PIETER VAN ELLEWEE – ADVISE AND COUNSEL LEARNERS
Introduction:
I am Pieter van Ellewee a Training and HR Manager for Rampar Trading. I have started with
the company in November 2013 and one of my main roles in my Portfolio is Skills
Development which include to be a Facilitator. I underwent the following two-unit stand
courses in 2011 before I joined the company namely 117871 Facilitate learning using a
variety of given methodologies well as 117877 Perform one-to-one training on the job. My
total years of experience in the Skills Development field is almost 9 years. I was tasked in
2014 by Management of Rampar Trading to conduct various Training programs for Rampar
Trading staff which were for Area Managers, Store Managers and Sales Assistant Staff.
My Training path started when at my first company where I had to teach the store staff in
various topics and became a national trainer for this organisation part of my HR duties.
Learner support is the educational system that focuses on the student and facilitator
relationship with the main emphasis on the facilitator’s role. The facilitator is supposed to
give the student more than can be given to an average student. Therefore, learning extends
beyond the formal methods and focuses on intensive learning and skill development
According to various research and scholars, the facilitator-student relationship is very
important, and the presence of the facilitator mainly influences the success or failure of the
student.
One major advantage of learner support is the ability of the Facilitator to deal with the
various challenges associated with the different needs of the students the facilitator can
engage the students on a more basic level providing the necessary educational
recommendation and training. Secondly, the facilitator can receive direct feedback from the
student and consequently provide the response in a more direct form These feedbacks are
mainly associated with project activities, writing and reading assignments. The result is that
the student is in a better position to understand. Thirdly, learner support includes the
supportive efforts of other students. The facilitators can enhance this by providing platforms
through which various students can collaborate to help the challenged. Students working
together is more beneficial than individually. Finally, learner support is also beneficial
because of the counselling tag associated with it the students are provided with academic as
well as guidance and administrative support.
The main drivers for ETD in South Africa include high rates of labour turnover, shortage of
labour, and outrageous rates of unemployment However, a proper learner support program
must be defined in terms of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. To begin
with, learner support has been viewed as a way of enhancing the skills and capability of the
human resource in an organization. This is useful because of the lack of skilled labour. As a
matter of fact, it been applied in both the informal sectors in South Africa. On the other
hand, the major threat is attributed to the cost of EDT initiatives. They are very expensive
and as such, the practitioners are required to deliver their EDT interventions in a strategized
manner

The major strength lies on the cost saving measures that are employed initiatives reduces
the expenditure by enabling the human resource teams to continue working during training.
On the other hand, weakness may lie on the ability to effectively manage classes as well as
the training. The training employed must consider the individual needs and If the needs of
the individuals are not considered, the system may be ineffective.
In my case, I have had the privilege of helping some of my colleagues at work. Helping
these individuals entails proper planning, discussion, and training. The major problem
observed with these two individuals, Lucy Mathuloane Kumane and Lennox Mkhonto, is on
their reading and writing. The problem was mainly associated with their educational
background where both started as sales assistant working their way to the manager’s
positions. The situation is aggravated by the fact that they have very low educational
qualifications, grade 7 to be precise. Therefore, they are constantly faced with the challenge
of reading and writing. This can be a thorn in the flesh during training because some of the
time I had to help them out with the training. Therefore, I had to ensure that I provided
learner support tuition which were mainly one on one, and more to this, extended the half
class schedule to full day schedule.
In line with providing help, the first step involved understanding the background. People
have different backgrounds that affect their learning. The two backgrounds were similar
because of the relatively shallow qualifications they had when joining the organization. All
that understood, the challenges were mainly in reading and writing. Finally, because of the
relatively shallow reading and writing skills, I extended the half a day classes to full time
classes. For Lennox, I provided three classes whereby the first was on effective management
and an introduction to the policies and procedures of training, the second was on actual
training and the third was mainly a group training. Grouping learners’ enables the less
privileged to learn from the whole group and in turn ensures proper learning. The third class
ended with an assessment whereby he was declared competent but till requires support. On
the other hand, I provided Lucy with the first two classes.
Critical cross-field outcomes
I can, therefore, conclude that, based on my interaction with both Lucy and Lennox, that I
was able to use aspects of CCFOs to improve their learning capabilities. The CCFO’s have
been identified by SAQA to be very useful in enhancing the learning process with their main
purpose to provide a platform where the leaner can connect the subject matter with his/her
experienceAs with the two learners, the two CCFO’s that I was able to integrate into their
training mainly pertained communication using language skills in oral and written
presentation and identifying and solving problems in which responses displayed critical
thinking. However, with Lennox, I was also able to apply the teamwork skills in the training.
The three CCFO’s are supposed to enable the learners to apply what they have learned in
the training with the necessary work-related problems
On the aspect of proper communication and using oral presentation, Lennox was able to
implement the techniques learned in class with the test conducted in the third class. His
presentation in writing alongside his ability to answer the questions verbally was

remarkable. He had gone through two classes already on effective management and training
which were tested in the final class. It is in this presentation that he was declared
competent. The skills obtained would be effective in the manager’s position. In this, he
would be able to present information to his subordinates on any aspect that he deemed
necessary. Moreover, his presentation required critical thinking, the second aspect of
CCFO.Critical thinking is necessary for a person in the manager’s position and by engaging
him in an assessment, he was able to display the aspect of critical thinking. Moreover, he
was able to apply, the third aspect of CCFO, working effectively with others as a group. The
third training was a group task and by engaging with others in the training as well as in the
assessment, he displayed a gain of team skills.
As with Lucy, the aspect of critical thinking, as well as communication, were the two CCFO’s
implemented in her training. To begin with, lengthening the class from half a day provided
her with the necessary platform in which she was able to think critically and communicate
effectively. On effective management class, she was able to understand the concepts that
were part of policies and procedures of training. In this, she displayed critical thinking which
would later be used in the manager’s position. Moreover, the knowledge gained was
manifested by effective communication, a necessity for any manager. The two would be
effective in ensuring that she transferred the skills gained in class with her work-related
issues.
The use of the three CCFO’s has enabled me to understand the needs of those with reading
and writing challenges in a detailed manner. Lennox and Lucy have a challenge in reading
and writing and by displaying proper communication skills, critical thinking, and team
building, there was no doubt that there would be an improvement in their management
skills. Proper communication and using visual aid improve the presentation skills while
effective critical thinking and group work to improve the team building skills.
What do you feel you’ve learned from the course?
I have learned a lot out of this course the importance of advice and counsel to learners with
difficulties and that it is important that we need to have this in any training environment.
Counselling is a term that consist a long period of time. ages to understand ourselves, offer
counsel and develop our potential, become aware of opportunities and, in general, help
ourselves in ways associated with formal guidance practice.
In most areas where I work, there has been, and there still is, a deeply embedded conviction
that, under proper conditions, people can help others with their problems. Some people
help others find ways of dealing with, solving, or transcending problems.
In work, if the collaboration between Facilitators and learners is good, learners learn in a
practical way. People develop degrees of freedom in their lives as they become aware of
options and take advantage of them.
Effective counselling, especially in institutions of work place skills learning has now become
important. men and women, need to be guided in the relationships between health and the
environment, earning skills, knowledge, and attitudes that lead to success and failure in life.

The need for counselling has become paramount in order to promote the well-being of a
person. Effective counselling should help to improve the self-image of people and facilitate
achievement in life tasks.
How will you do things differently in the future
I will create an environment where there is in all staff counsel and advice – because if we
want to achieve the best out of our learners then we need to create a constant environment
of advice and counsel
What are your personal strengths and weaknesses
I have a passion of working with people, giving advice and counsel people and I like to
empower people. Weakness I am getting sometimes emotional and can’t handle if people
suffer due to circumstances around them
What advice will you give your peers in order to improve practice
Well make sure that this is what you want to do and that you can identify learner problems
and lastly that you can deal with it by creating an environment at work to enhance staff
abilities and skills
How did i record my findings?
To provide help to both of the adult learners, my very first step was involved understanding
the background of the learners so that I can record my thorough findings about the lessons
to be provided. As we know that people have diverse backgrounds that directly affect their
learning and education. Both the two learners were having similar education backgrounds
because of the comparatively shallow qualifications they were having when they had joined
the company. Thus I understood that the challenges for my mentoring were lying mainly in
reading as well as writing skills. I evaluated both the adult learners separately and then
finally I decided that on account for their relatively low quality reading and writing skill set, I
will take training session separately and one to one. Besides, I extended the time duration of
the training also through making the half day classes to full day classes in order to mentor
them effectively in rampar trading.
Advise on the way forward with these two learners including the ways we give extra
support
My advice for the two learners for providing extra support is that we should first respect
their dignity and prior professional knowledge as well as work experience. When we will do
that then it will build a self-confidence in them which can allow them to learn effectively
and quickly in the training session. Furthermore, practical post training assessments, regular
counselling session, one-to-one interactions and problem solving sessions can help in
providing further support to their mentoring from us.
Confidentiality - how did we kept it confidential
We kept the training process confidential as we did not take training in group except the
final group learning activity. In spite of keeping the training confidential, some activities

needed to be conducted in group so we did. In order to ensure proper learning
confidentiality was too much important because group learning do not privilege all the
learners effectively. Moreover, results of training assessments as well as their progress
report is kept highly confidential through securing it from colleagues and other employees,
it is for management use only.
Lastly recommendations to senior management - evaluate the strengths of the
couching and mentoring of learners with special needs, look at the weaknesses of the
support services, threats and opportunities you gave to the learners
Finally I recommend that we must appreciate and share the positive progress report of the
training session with the two adult learners so that it will be an acknowledgement for the
learners that they are learning in a positive direction. We also must tell them about the
remaining understanding, reading and writing problems of them those needs to be
improved soon. If we will remind them regularly about some major shortcomings like rush
writing, and less writing practice of them in a good way then it will definitely work. In the
context of strengths and opportunities of the mentoring process, I will suggest that all is
going good still we need to push them off for completing the training module efficiently as
they have already crossed more than half way of training. Moreover, if the organization will
help them in building their reading and writing skills then it will not only profit them but also
to the company as well. Thus, company’s support and favourable actions will improve their
employees following the overall growth.