Citrus Secondary Programme
The programme is free of charge to qualifying schools and homeschooling learners.
The Citrus Secondary programme was developed to address two major challenges. Firstly, the challenge of youth unemployment in rural areas, where too many school-leavers do not have marketable skills allowing them to access local job opportunities. Secondly, the challenge of skills shortages in citrus-growing regions, where many growers, packhouses and other citrus enterprises are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit employees with the necessary skills and knowledge.
The programme is mainly implemented at secondary schools in citrus-growing regions. It is ideally implemented over two years, for grade 10 and 11 learners, either as an extracurricular activity or as part of the curriculum for the Agricultural Management Practices school subject. In exceptional circumstances, a condensed version of the programme can be made available to learners who would like to complete it in one year (referred to as the Citrus Secondary Condensed programme).
The programme is delivered exclusively through the Citrus Academy e-learning platform. It consists of weekly modules, each containing content and assessment activities. Some activities require site visits to citrus production or packing units, reenforcing knowledge through practical learning.
Please click here to download an information pamphlet.
Please visit the Citrus Secondary E-Learning registration page for instructions on how to participate.
Frequently Asked Questions
We do not recommend this because of the time this will require, but it is possible. There is a version of the e-learning programme that enables 1-year implementation, named Citrus Secondary Condensed.
Yes, this is possible, as long as the learners have access to a working citrus farm to complete their practical activities.
The Citrus Production Practices e-learning programme has the same content and basic structure, but is condensed to one year and has activities that does not require group work. It is aimed at implementation on farms.
For the moment, yes, but more modules are under development addressing packhouse and administration practices.
To discuss the implementation of the programme at your school, please contact Sive for more information.