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Assisting the communities, we operate in to develop and prosper is one of Old Mutual’s top priorities. We are deeply committed to building a stronger economy and a better society so that everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
We believe our business’s long-term success as well as YOUR long-term success depend on inclusive and transformative social development. We also fully agree with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) that education is a key and strategic driver of this development on our continent.
For this reason, we financially support several education initiatives, focusing particularly on Basic Education, including Early Childhood Development (ECD).
The last couple of years have been beyond challenging, with the Covid-19 pandemic impacting all aspects of society, including our education system. An increased focus on education is now more important than ever.
Our aim is to help lift learning out of its current crisis. Far too many learners in Africa drop out before reaching high school and far too few learners leave school with strong literacy and numeracy skills.
Through our comprehensive Education Programme, we provide funding, mentorship and support to students, teachers and principals to empower learners to become economically active and positive contributors to society.
Focus on early childhood and foundation years
Old Mutual Education Flagship Programme
Inspired by the seven-year programme we ran from 2013 to 2019, Old Mutual extended this initiative for an additional five years, to 2025. In the current phase (2020 to 2025) our focus is on improving literacy and numeracy levels among foundation phase learners by building on ‘reading for meaning’ through tuition in their home languages.
The NEXT176 team plays an integral role in our education story. Oystar Africa, one of six ventures in their fold, is dedicated to providing access to quality education throughout South Africa, starting from the vital Early Childhood Development (ECD) stage. Oystar Africa creates innovative digital tools to empower preschool owners to manage their centres more effectively. Working hand-in-hand with GROW Educare Centres, their goal is to support thousands of ECD centres to become self-sufficient enterprises that help strengthen the entire education sector.
Strong ongoing support of high schools:
The 21 Acts of Goodness for Matric Learners programme provides academic and psychosocial support as well as post-matric opportunities by helping students apply for NSFAS funding and bursaries, and gain admission to universities and TVET colleges.
Old Mutual Learn. Think. Do is also focused on high schools, with a mandate to develop high quality financial literacy content aligned to the CAPS curriculum. The content aims to expand learners’ understanding of financial concepts in the curriculum, to improve their academic outcomes as well as their financial literacy. It is available on multiple platforms (TV, radio, smartphone, online, YouTube) and multiple formats (animation, podcasts, worksheets) in multiple languages, including all eleven official languages, sign language and braille.
Empowering post-matric youth
Old Mutual’s integrated education and skills development strategy includes post-matric support.
The Old Mutual Education Trust (OMET) is a partnership between Old Mutual and 10 participating trade unions. To date OMET has supported more than 400 young, mainly black adults to obtain a tertiary education.
Actuarial and accounting bursaries are awarded to Grade 12 learners and university students with a work-back contractual obligation. When learners complete their studies, they join the Old Mutual Actuarial Graduate Programme or the Old Mutual CA Training Programme.
The Imfundo Education Trust provides full scholarships to deserving black tertiary students, with a focus on women and students from peri-urban areas.
Old Mutual Foundation’s Post-School Education and Training (PSET) programme addresses youth unemployment through holistic skills interventions. The focus is on strengthening academic outcomes and developing trade and vocational skills in the green economy, including digital skills. In 2022 Old Mutual positively impacted over 470 high-potential youth and invited 24 into Old Mutual’s IT talent pipeline.
This post and content is sponsored, written and produced by Old Mutual.
