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Dear Amanda

Congratulations for successfully running your own construction company for 5 years. If you are looking for some formal qualifications there are a number of options to consider.

First of all, we suggest you explore the various qualifications in civil engineering and construction to find out what you are aiming for and what subjects you need. For example:

• Universities offer the following courses: BSc (Eng) Civil Engineering, BSc Property Studies, BSc Construction Studies. Please refer to the career planet web page for university web addresses: http://www.careerplanet.co.za/_pages/places_to_study
• Universities of Technology offer the following courses: ND Civil Engineering or ND Building which leads to a BTech in Construction Management or Quantity Surveying. Please refer to the career planet web page for university web addresses: http://www.careerplanet.co.za/_pages/places_to_study
• Further Education and Training Colleges (FET) offer a National Certificate Vocational (NCV) in civil engineering and building construction. Please refer to the telephone and address list of Public FET Colleges on the Department of Education’s website to locate the college nearest to you: http://www.education.gov.za/dynamic/dynamic.aspx?pageid=326&dirid=83

If you decide you need a National Senior Certificate or NSC (what matric is now called) you will need to register as a Private Candidate. Contact your local school or provincial department of education for information and advice about registration as a private candidate: 

• Eastern Cape Tel : (040) 608 4205
• Free State Tel: (051) 404 8430
• Gauteng : (011) 355 1510/8
• KwaZulu Natal Tel: (033) 392 1004 Toll free 0800 204 353
• Limpopo : (015) 297 0895
• Mpumalanga : (013) 766 5048 Toll free 0800 204 098
• North West : (018) 387 3428/9
• Northern Cape : Tel (053) 839 6683/96
• Western Cape Tel : (021) 467 2535 Toll free 0800 454 647

To obtain an NSC you need to take two official South African languages, mathematics or mathematical literacy, life orientation and 3 subjects drawn from the recognised list. Explore the Department of Education document for details of recognised subjects. http://www.education.gov.za/Documents/policies/NSCNQF4.pdf.  If you want to go on to university you will need to make sure you have taken 4 recognised subjects that are approved by universities. These are called designated subjects. The following web pages are good examples of university and university of technology (new name for Technikon) admission requirements:

• http://info.cput.ac.za/prospectus/CPUTAdmission2010.pdf
• http://web.up.ac.za/sitefiles/file/33/A4%20Admission%20requirements%202010_lr_1.pdf

There are a number of different options available to adult learners who want to obtain a NSC:
Public Adult Learning Centre: We suggest you contact your local  Department of Education or local school to find out  which centre is nearest to you.
Private Colleges like Intec College, Brainline Learning World, Damelin, Abbots College or to see if they can help you with private candidate registration and suitable part-time or correspondence courses:

• http://www.intec.edu.za/
• http://www.brainline.com/cms/
• http://www.damelin.co.za/
• http://www.abbotts.co.za/