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Dear Annelisha

I am so sorry you have experienced a set back in your career progress and that you felt humiliated and embarrassed. Please remember that while this experience has been very traumatic for you, it is a wonderful opportunity to learn from the mistakes made and to build character. It also doesn’t mean that you are a failure.

To help you throw off your embarrassment and negative thoughts, sit down and list all your strengths and good points, learn from this experience by figuring out what you will do differently this year and now focus on the way forward  - one step at a time.

Consider the following options:

1.  Rewrite matric as a private candidate

We have been advised that schools have all the necessary forms and information about how to go about registering as a private candidate. We therefore suggest you contact the school where you wrote your exams. Please don’t let your feelings of embarrassment prevent you from getting help from your school. They will respect you if you preserve and work hard to find a solution – this is character building and will help you develop problem solving skills that will help you throughout your life. The examinations are in November 2010.

You could also contact private colleges like Damelin, Abbots College or Intec College to see if they can help you with private candidate registration and suitable courses:
• http://www.intec.edu.za/
• http://www.damelin.co.za/
• http://www.abbotts.co.za/

The Provincial Departments of Education may also be contacted for information and forms:

• 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

2.  NCV through FET College

You could also consider the courses offered by public further education and training colleges; for example the NCV courses provide many opportunities.

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=83National Certificate Vocational:

We hope this information will help you to get yourself going again. Let is know how you progress.

Lynn and the Career Planet Team