Tertiary Short Courses


The short courses last four months each and are taken entirely online via your Android mobile device (tablet or mobile phone). You can take more than one at a time and they can start at any time of the year, whenever it is convenient for the student.

 

Admission requirements: A student needs to have completed his matric or an equivalent school leaving certificate. Alternatively, they can continue with their tertiary studies by passing the Pocket Classrooms Internal GED Equivalency Exam at the end of their GED 2 year. If they obtain 65% and above for their internal final exam with Pocket Classrooms, they will qualify for admission to any of the tertiary short courses offered. If a student completes two short tertiary courses, they can qualify for admission to any of the tertiary accredited courses.

 

Application procedures: To enrol, click the "Sign Up" icon on the home page or click here

(https://pocketclassrooms.net/Home/student_registration/ZA)

 
 

Course Overview
We all know what good writing is. It’s the novel we can’t put down, the poem we never forgot, and the speech that changes the way we look at the world. Good writing is the memo that gets action, the letter that says what a phone call can’t.


In business writing, the language is concrete, the point of view is clear, and the points are well expressed. Good writing is hard work, and even the best writers get discouraged. However, with practice you can feel more confident about your own writing.

 

Learning Objectives

1. To learn the value of good written communication.
2. To learn how to write and proofread your work so it is clear, concise, complete, and correct.
3. To provide opportunities to apply these skills in real world situations.
4. To understand the proper format for memos, reports, and letters.

Course Overview

All of us experience conflict. We argue with our spouses, disagree with our friends, and sometimes even quarrel with strangers at a hockey game. At times we lose sight of the fact that all this conflict is normal. So long as people are individuals there will be the potential for conflict.

That’s the first thing to learn about conflict. It isn’t wrong or bad; it’s just part of being a person in contact with other people. The only people who don’t experience conflict are hermits.

Since you can’t prevent conflict, the most important thing is to learn how to handle or manage it in productive ways. In many industries, the amount of time spent on conflict management is surprisingly high. A study by the American Management Association says that managers spend at least 24% of their time on managing conflict. Hospital
administrators, school administrators, mayors, and city managers spend even more time on this problem area.

What is critical for resolving conflict is developing an understanding of, and a trust in, shared goals. It requires openness, discipline, and creativity. Showing respect for other people and not blaming them enables people to work for mutual benefit.

There are no magical phrases or simple procedures for managing conflict. However, there are several strategies for coping with conflict. Knowing when and how to use these techniques can make you a more effective leader.

 

At the end of this workshop, you will be able to:
1. Understand what conflict is and how it can escalate
2. Be able to recognize the five most common conflict resolution styles and when to use them
3. Increase positive information flow, through non-verbal and verbal communication skills
4. Develop effective techniques for intervention strategies
5. Strengthen staff trust and morale
6. Become more confident of your ability to manage conflicts to enhance productivity and performance

Course Overview
As project managers and leads, we all know how difficult it can be to accurately determine the duration of a project, yet that is exactly what is expected of us on a regular basis. This workshop will not disclose the secret of creating an accurate schedule, because there isn’t one. However, it will provide the factors and fundamental elements
that you should consider and address when creating any type of schedule.

Participants should complete the Intermediate Project Management workshop prior to this course, or have equivalent knowledge.

 

This course presumes that participants:
1. Can define projects and project management
2. Understand a project’s life cycle
3. Are familiar with the basics of project planning and scheduling
4. Know how to complete a Statement of Work and/or a project charter

 

Learning Objectives
At the end of this workshop, you will be able to:
1.   Define and create a Work Breakdown Structure
2.   Identify and understand task relationships
3.   Estimate task durations and determine project duration
4.   Construct a network diagram
5.   Calculate the critical path of a project
6.   Use the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) to create estimates
7.   Plan for risks
8.   Create a communication plan
9.   Effectively allocate project resources
10. Update and monitor the project schedule

Course Overview
An article in the March 11, 2010 edition of TIME magazine purported to explain “why we have entered the post-trust era.” Indeed, we seem to be in a time where people act inappropriately and then refuse to take responsibility for their actions. Who can we blame for the world economic crisis, the issues in the Catholic Church, or the state of the environment? More to the point, why do we spend so much time and energy looking to pin the blame on someone (usually anyone but ourselves)?

With this in mind, it’s no wonder that organizations who promote accountability are more successful and more productive. In this one-day workshop, you will learn about what accountability is, how to promote it in your organization, and how to become more accountable to yourself and others.

 

Learning Objectives
1. Understanding what accountability is and what events in history have shaped our view of it
2. Identifying the requirements for personal and corporate accountability
3. Understanding the cycle of accountability and the fundamental elements required to build an accountable organization
4. Identifying what individuals must do to become accountable
5. Building skills required for accountability, including goal-setting, giving and receiving feedback, and delegation
6. Pinpointing ways to build ownership in your organization
7. Isolating areas for further self-improvement

Course Overview
A small marketing budget doesn’t mean you can’t meet your goals and business objectives – you just have to be more creative in your marketing tactics. This one-day workshop will show you how to get maximum exposure at minimum cost. Learn effective, low-cost, and non-cost strategies to improve sales, develop your company’s image, and build your bottom line.

 

Learning Objectives
By the end of today you will:
1. Recognize what we mean by the term “marketing.”
2. Discover how to use low-cost publicity to get your name known.
3. Know how to develop a marketing plan and a marketing campaign.
4. Use your time rather than your money to market your company effectively.
5. Understand how to perform a SWOT analysis.

Content will be updated soon

Course Overview
If you are like most sales professionals, you are always looking for ways to overcome customer objections and close the sale. This workshop will help you plan, prepare, and execute proposals and presentations that address customer concerns, reduce the number of objections you encounter, and improve your batting average at closing the sale.

 

Learning Objectives
Today, we will:
1. Identify the steps you can take to build your credibility.
2. Identify the objections that you encounter most frequently.
3. Develop appropriate responses when prospective buyers throw you a curve.
4. Learn ways to disarm objections with proven rebuttals that get the sale back on track.
5. Learn how to recognize when a prospect is ready to buy.
6. Discuss how working with your sales team can help you succeed.

Course Overview
If you are like most sales professionals, you are always looking for ways to overcome customer objections and close the sale. This workshop will help you plan, prepare, and execute proposals and presentations that address customer concerns, reduce the number of objections you encounter, and improve your batting average at closing the sale.

 

Learning Objectives
Today, we will:
1. Identify the steps you can take to build your credibility.
2. Identify the objections that you encounter most frequently.
3. Develop appropriate responses when prospective buyers throw you a curve.
4. Learn ways to disarm objections with proven rebuttals that get the sale back on track.
5. Learn how to recognize when a prospect is ready to buy.
6. Discuss how working with your sales team can help you succeed.

Course Overview
Project management isn’t just for construction engineers and military logistics experts anymore. Today, in addition to the regular duties of your job, you are often expected to take on extra assignments - and to get that additional job done well, done under budget, and done on time.

This workshop is not intended to take you from a supervisory or administrative position to that of a project manager. However, today’s topics will familiarize you with the most common terms and the most current thinking about projects.

 

Learning Objectives
At the end of this workshop, you will be able to:
1. Understand what is meant by a project
2. Understand what project management means
3. Identify benefits of projects
4. Identify the phases of a project’s life cycle
5. Enhance your ability to sell ideas and make presentations
6. Prioritize projects
7. Begin conceptualizing your project, including goals and vision statements
8. Use a target chart and other planning tools
9. Complete a Statement of Work

Course Overview

Learning Objectives
Building your self-esteem is essential for confidence and success, and it all begins with you. Of all the judgments you make in life, none is as important as the one you make about yourself. Without some measure of self-worth, life can be enormously painful.

Today you will discover some simple techniques that dramatically change how you feel about yourself. You will learn how to recognize the importance of learning self-acceptance and nurturing your sense of self.


During this workshop, you will:
1. Grow in the conviction that you are competent and worthy of happiness.
2. Develop some techniques for making a positive first impression.
3. Learn how to turn negative thoughts into positive thoughts.
4. Learn how to make requests so that you get what you want.
5. Find ways of connecting with people.

Course Overview
Work is not the only thing that matters in life, but most of us want to take pride in what we do. While we don’t have to like the people we work with, or report to, at the very least we should be able to interact positively with them. The biggest influence on job satisfaction is our relationship with others.

We all want some measure of success in life. However, our work should not be a burden to us, and our offices shouldn’t be battlefields. We are human beings working with other human beings, so this workshop is about working to the best of your abilities, and encouraging the best in those who work with you or for you.

 

Learning Objectives

This workshop will help you:
1. Understand the importance of professional presence on the job.
2. Learn how to self-manage to become more effective and efficient.
3. Improve your communications skills, including listening, questioning, and being more assertive.
4. Increase your effectiveness in recognizing and managing conflict, and dealing with difficult people.

Course Overview

Learning Objectives
At the end of this workshop, you will be able to:
1.Identify different types of teams.
2. Build teamwork by recognizing and tapping into the twelve characteristics of an effective team.
3. Promote trust and rapport by exploring your team player style and how it impacts on group dynamics.
4. Recognize the key elements that move a team from involvement to empowerment and how to give these elements to your team.
5. Develop strategies for dealing with team conflict and common situations.
6. Understand how action planning and analysis tools can help your team perform better.

Course Overview
Time is money, the saying goes, and lots of it gets lost in disorganization and disruption.

Today we will learn how to make the most of your time by getting a grip on your office space, organizing your workflow, learning how to use your planner effectively, and delegating some of your work to other people.

 

Learning Objectives
By the end of today, you will be able to:
1. Better organize yourself and your workspace for peak efficiency.
2. Understand the importance of, and the most useful techniques for, setting and achieving goals.
3. Identify the right things to be doing and develop plans for doing them.
4. Learn what to delegate and how to delegate well.
5. Take control of things that can derail workplace productivity.

Course Overview
Rudeness in the workplace is increasing to the level that universities are studying it. Everyone is busy, everyone is stressed, and most people take it out on their colleagues at one time or another. We’ve all been in a situation where we need to print something ASAP and someone has left the printer jammed, or we need coffee and the coffeepot is empty.

Technology is supposed to make life easier and simpler, but most managers find themselves cleaning up the messes caused by too many gadgets.

 

Learning Objectives
So what do we do about this? That’s what we’re here to learn! By the end of tomorrow, you’ll know how to:
1.   Make your workplace a technology-friendly place
2.   Make the most of computers, telephones, instant messaging, e-mail, contact management applications, and scheduling software
3.   Communicate better with the IT department
4.   Make the best software and training choices
6.   Set an IT budget
7.   Set expectations and responsibilities for security and privacy
8.   Keep employees safe and healthy
9.   Develop and implement a system usage policy
10. Implement policies for dealing with company property
11. Decide whether or not employees should telecommute
12. Make telecommuting work
13. Deal with workplace rage
14. Address technological issues