Free Online Courses with Certificates by ZA Government

The South African government introduced the National School of Education training program to equip the workforce better and improve the institutional structure within the country. Under these programs, the students and field practitioners get access to free training courses that help them excel in the field and improve their skill sets.

Want to know more about which course suits your criteria well? Here are some popularly chosen government-free online courses with certificates in South Africa. So, keep on reading to know more.

1. Legal Barriers to Women’s Rights and Opportunities

Course Details

• Downloadable resources (videos, audio recordings, manuscripts)
• Assessment-based passing criteria
• World Bank Certification

Description

Designed and organized by lawmakers in the World Bank, this course focuses on the determination of regulatory and legal barriers that are obstructing women from getting basic rights and economic opportunities. It helps women understand, analyze, and respond to the official discriminatory practices that put them at risk and prevent them from working functionally.

This course is specially written and gathered by businessmen and legal personnel, and it is based on pure research. The data for the research was collected from over 190 countries, including Africa, to provide deeper insights into the operation of policymaking institutions, governments, and private enterprises.

Topics Covered

Here are the modules covered by this course;

• Barriers to Economic Opportunities:
• Barriers to Marital/ Property Rights
• Protection from Violence (Physical and Verbal)
• Barriers to Equal Pay/ Access to Benefits

2. Foundation Management Development

Course Details

• 2 to 3 weeks (5 hours per week) completion period
• Fifteen public-sector organizations accredit this course
• Available to all South African citizens (especially administrators and first-line supervisors)
• Formative assessments, quizzes, interactive sessions, and class activities
• Pre-requisites: NQF 3 and 4 Level

Description

The FMDP Foundation Management Development Programme is a two-tier short course directed towards empowering and educating managers and leaders working in the public sectors. This course is integrated with the IMDP techniques to provide employees with better work opportunities and salary packages. It builds a solid foundation for future workspace development.

Topics Covered

Following are some topics covered in this course.

• Understanding and developing knowledge of individual and teamwork to optimize and streamline workflow in organizational settings.
• Adopting modern management techniques for multiple departments and hierarchies.

3. Mentoring for Public Service Managers

Course Details

• Three working days (5 hours per day) completion period
• Accredited with South African Government-sponsored Internship and Mentorship Programme
• Available to all South African citizens (especially managers and team leads in Public Services)
• Formative assessments, quizzes, interactive sessions, and class activities
• Pre-requisites: NQF 3 and 4 Level

Description

This mentoring course is sponsored and established by the South African government to train managers and team leads working in Public Services. It is a two-tier course that spans over three working days and involves a number of practice sessions, interactive discussions, and class assessments for managers to adapt to the right professional skills in the workspaces. Plus, expert practitioners teach it, so you will have a better understanding of the in-demand skills required in the market.

Topics Covered

Here are the following topics covered in this course.

• Develop and apply the required skills to excel in the public sector workspaces.
• Understanding the ethical and professional values and attitudes required to work as a medium-level manager in Public Services.
• Adapting an attitude that collaborates and works in the team.

4. Ethics in the Public Service

Course Details

• Self-registration for South African citizens (especially government employees and students).
• 8 to 10 hours/ 2 to 4 weeks completion time (flexible schedules according to your pace).
• Certification by the Department National School of Government
• Taught by expert practitioners in the field.

Description

The South African government organizes this course to facilitate employees in the public sector and Public Administration students in developing an ethical culture and professionally acceptable ethical conduct. It dives deeper into the real-world complex scenarios from the workspace and explores ways and methods through which you can respond ethically and responsibly. It also uses quizzes, assignments, and assessments to help you better understand professional and personal interactions.

Topics Covered

The following topics are covered in this course.

• The personal and professional values and their reflection in the employee’s routine interaction.
• Recognition of ethical dilemmas in workspaces, especially in the public sector.
• Understanding of the core values, concepts, and standard procedures concerned with the ethical practices in Public Service.
• Promotion of professional ethics and methods to encourage workplace harmony and peaceful co-existence of employees.

5. Policy, Writing, and Implementation

Course Details

• Carried out by interactive sessions
• Completion certificate by University of Pretoria
• Open for government employees and public administration students
• Four days completion

Description

The University of Pretoria, in collaboration with the South African government, organized this course for government employees to develop writing skills for policy briefs and white papers. It offers insights into the evaluation and execution techniques that help them develop the right attitudes in government-based settings. The course aims to help students learn in-demand skills for policy briefings, especially in the public sector.

Topics Covered

The following are the key topics covered in this course.

• A deeper understanding of public policy writing and its execution.
• Techniques and methods used for policy writing in the public sector.
• Procedures of policy writing at the provincial, regional, and national levels.
• Evaluation of the skills learned during the course sessions.

6. Ethics for Internal Auditors

Course Details

• 2 to 3 weeks completion time (5 hours per week)
• Contact/ interaction sessions with downloadable resources
• Available for all South African citizens, especially internal auditors and finance students
• Completion certification by the SA Government

Description

This course is yet another collaboration between the government of South Africa and the University of Pretoria that is directed towards developing knowledge and expertise in internal auditing and control. It helps students understand auditing techniques, financial management methods, and evaluation of risk-mitigating techniques. After completing this course, you will be able to analyze, evaluate, and prevent financial risks and problem areas through optimal practices in professional auditing organizations.

Topics Covered

Here are the key topics covered in this course.

• Professional codes of ethics and how to successfully execute them.
• Understanding the professional standard auditing practices.
• Adopting risk-based controlling techniques to manage the finances of big organizations.
• Performing and writing the audit performance reports.

7. Digital Marketing for Entrepreneurs

Course Details

• Taught by Christopher Gray: CEO and Co-Founder Scholly
• It is a three-tier course (modules)
• Personalized certificates by the government
• Assessment-based passing criteria

Description

This course is gathered to help young students adopt rational and practical methods for developing a new entrepreneurial idea and maximizing its marketing. It gives you an insight into website design, online marketing, personal branding, and how to optimize the search engine for maximum productivity and high ranking. Moreover, it gives you access to market giants, so it is easy to kick-start your online business journey and explore funding opportunities.

Topics Covered

Here are some modules you will be covering in this course.

• Creation of an online brand
• Developing a marketing strategy
• Targeting digital marketing techniques and converting sales
• Maximizing your brand value using search engines

8. The Climate Crisis: Addressing Five Key Areas for Change

Course Details

• Taught by Stephanie Benedetto (CEO Queen of Raw), Caitlin Welsh (Director Center for Strategic and International Studies), Sharma Perveen (Senior Manager, Ceres), Rob Hanson (CEO, Monolith), and Jonah Busch (Climate Economic Research Fellow).
• Personalized certificate by the government
• Assessment-based passing criteria
• Five modules

Description

As the name suggests, this climate crisis course is established to help students understand, analyze, and solve the prevalent environmental-economic problems. It dives deeper into the five key areas that are influencing the modern-day transnational climate crisis so that countries are well-equipped to achieve manageable goals, promote protection opportunities, and redefine equitable goals. Plus, this course is taught by big industry giants.

Topics Covered

Following are the key topics you will learn in this course.

• Identify the five key problem areas in the climate crisis that require urgent action by the economic and environmental industries.
• Evaluate and analyze the growing deforestation and how it can be tackled.
• Understanding the role of emissions in the greenhouse effect and reducing their gasses outputs.
• Develop solution-oriented techniques to prevent water-related climate crisis risks.
• Improving the agriculture industry and promoting food security in local and international communities.
• Comprehend how businessmen and entrepreneurs can adapt ways to promote a circular economy on a national and international level.

9. Community Journalism: Basic Principles for Effective Storytelling

Course Details

• Taught by R Alen Berry (educator and researcher), Katherine G Fry (Media Studies and TV Department professor at Brooklyn City College, University of New York), and Bob Butler (freelance journalist, Butler Media)
• Personalized certification by the government
• Assessment-based passing criteria
• 4 to 5 weeks completion period (6 hours per week)

Description

This community journalism course is available to all African cities as a joint collaboration under the Young African Leadership initiative. It is the best course for journalists starting their careers and helps them ethically and professionally carry out stories and share information in the local communities. This course dives deeper into the professional standard methods, tools, and practices to gather information, find sources, transmit data, and tell stories, making sure employees execute best practices.

Topics Covered

Here are the common key topics you will cover and learn in this course.

• Understanding the principles of community journalism, including data gathering, information dissipation, locating reliable sources, and ethical storytelling.
• Comprehend and analyze the differences between telling stories and objectively sharing news/ information. Make a comparison of the traditional and modern storytelling techniques and execute them according to real-time scenarios.
• Getting familiar with the popular journalistic tools to gather information, disseminate it, and carry out community stories.

10. Effective Communication for Healthy Outcomes

Course Details

• Taught by Edmund Rutta (special technical advisor at Global Health Fellows and Public Health Institute), Khadidiatou Ndiaye (assistant professor and director of global health communication at George Washington University), and Austin Demby (deputy director at the office of Global Health, HHS).
• Personalized completion certificates according to each candidate’s performance
• Assessment-based passing criteria
• 3 to 4 weeks completion time (5 hours per week)

Description

Multiple African countries came together through the Young Program Initiative with multiple courses like Effective Communication that help employees excel in their workspaces. It explores the importance of communication in healthcare and techniques that can help provide consistent and accurate healthcare practices across Africa. Moreover, it is divided into three parts, including the healthcare communication, citizen responsibilities, and civil societies (especially YALI network members) duty towards local communities.

Topics Covered

The following are the key topics covered in this course.

• Understanding the role of employees through multiple hierarchies in global communication in the healthcare sector.
• Developing methods and techniques to deliver the messages in the healthcare sector effectively. Improving the ways through which the audience can better understand these messages.
• Building a step-by-step instructional mechanism to organize public health campaigns.
• Empowering civil society members to start health communication talks and bring awareness.

11. Fundamentals of Climate-Smart Entrepreneurship

Course Details

• Taught by Rachael Zoe Miller (Co-founder of Clora Ball and Clean Ocean) and Stephanie Benedetto (CEO and co-founder of Queen of Raw)
• Interaction sessions, downloadable resources, and assessment-based passing criteria
• Personalized certificate according to each candidate’s performance
• 2 to 3 weeks completion period

Description

As a part of the Young African Leaders Initiative, this climate-centric course is aimed toward the evaluation, analysis, planning, and execution of modern-day sustainable business approaches. It is taught by industry practitioners that help students understand and develop the in-demand skills to manage natural resources, prevent climate crises, and use profitable yet sustainable revenue generation methods. Plus, it has an entirely separate module on the green economy.

Topics Covered

Following are the key areas you will be covering in this course.

• Exploring the sustainable entrepreneurship techniques to start, run, and innovate businesses directed towards a green and circular economy.
• Develop an understanding of concepts, techniques, and methods of Green economy across continents.
• Understanding the blue economy and its standard practices to achieve long-term sustainable goals in preserving the planet.
• Adopting the blue economy techniques to mitigate and reduce the global climate crisis.

12. Executive Development Program: Certificate in Executive Leadership

Course Details

• Taught by Claude Grunitzky (Trace TV founder and CEO) and Evan Burfield (Co-founder 1776)
• Personalized completion certificates according to each candidate’s performance
• Assessment-based passing criteria
• 2 to 3 weeks completion time (5 hours per week)

Description

This government-sponsored Youth Programme course is specially organized for business students and people with a bright idea to kick-start their online business. It gives you insight into professional business practices, adopting risk-management techniques, and fishing potential investors to operate successfully. This course also trains new business owners to pitch their ideas to new investors effectively using the right strategies.

Topics Covered

Here are some key topics covered by this course.

• Understanding how to develop a business model.
• Adopting effective strategies and developing a modern online business model.
• Composing a business plan in groups and looking for funding opportunities by exploring the right investors.
• Identifying and analyzing the market trends.
• Adapting modern-day customer attraction practices and developing a marketing campaign.
• Creating pitches for your business and presenting them to the investors.
• Fishing financial resources to sponsor your business model.

13. Understanding Human Rights

Course Details

• Taught by Peter Sampson (UNOWA Head of Mediation, Special Representative Secretary General), Jennifer Thomas (IED-Led collaborative specialist on youth development and workforce mobility), and Mary Kalemkerian (Human Rights officer at UN Human Rights and Peace Mission support section officer).
• Personalized completion certificates according to each candidate’s performance
• Interaction sessions, downloadable resources, and assessment-based passing criteria
• 3 to 4 weeks completion period

Description

This course is designed with complete research and evaluation by the data collected through international non-governmental organizations like Amnesty International and UN Women. It aims to explore the laws, history, protective standards, and events that led to the modern-day definition of human rights. Whether you are applying as a volunteer, belong to a marginalized group, or work as an activist, this course can help you deeply analyze and understand the core concepts regarding human rights.

Topics Covered

Here are some key topics you will learn in this course.

• Understanding the legal and moral obligations that are considered while carrying out protective human rights missions.
• Analyzing the evolution of human rights laws and treaties that led to the evolution of modern-day human rights.
• Adopting techniques to protect marginalized people, especially victims of sexual abuse, gender discrimination, physical disabilities, economic instability, racial discrimination, and violence (verbal and physical).
• Advocating human rights through core principles and norms developed by the international community.
• Learning the history and evaluation of human rights professional non-governmental standards.

Finally, the NSG training program has been a great success for the public services workforce, given that it has helped a big employee structure to excel and improve. The best part about this initiative is that it has courses for everyone, be it businessmen, communication experts, managers, and human rights activists. I hope this guide has helped you in figuring out which course is suitable for your credentials and preferences.