• A National Senior Certificate or National Certificate Vocational (with certificate pass)

• A Matriculation Certificate or equivalent

• Mature age of 45 years can be admitted, determined by the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) portfolio of evidence provided 

The Higher Certificate in Community Development is targeted at:

• Individuals, volunteers and practitioners interested in pursuing a career in Community Development.
• Individuals working in Community Development or are interested in Community Development as a career path but do not have a bachelor’s matric pass. 
• Completion of the Higher Certificate in Community Development lays the basis for you to apply for the BA in Community Development to pursue a further qualification. 

Charmaine Iwu is Programme Co-ordinator of the Sociology and Community Development and Lecturer for Cornerstone Institute. She is a recent graduate of CPUT and holds a Master’s in Education (MEd). She focussed on Teacher education in South Africa. She was introduced to the world of Education and training when her own studies began. With her love of Mathematics and Academic Literacy, which she channelled by tutoring during her undergrad and Honours studies at UWC, this gave her the impetus to pursue a career in Education and Training. Charmaine participated in the Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE) research unit based in CPUT as a student and research trainee. This internship was an incredible learning experience which culminated in her Masters. Her previous degrees in Public Administration with a focus on Policy and Legislation afforded her the opportunity to work in the Sociology and Community development department at Cornerstone.

Students who have completed the qualification should be able to:

• Apply effective leadership and management principles in community projects
• Evaluate the nature and sources of conflict and identify and apply methods of appropriate resolution
• Develop monitoring and evaluation processes and frameworks for project analysis
• Discuss and evaluate the different approaches to rural and urban development among poor communities
• Identify key role players and resources in communities and identify strategies for mobilising communities and resources
• Identify and apply best practice community participation methods for specific development projects
• Design and execute a practical community needs analysis leading to a project in which the learner engages through participation and reflection.