AID cooperative agreement with the International Foundation for Education and self-Help in support of a program in training and education for South Africa

Under the first component, Educators for Africa, up to 30 African-American university professors, either retired or on sabbatical, will serve as visiting professors for a year or two at historically black, colored, and Asian Technikons, teaching in critically understaffed areas such as math and the sciences. The U.S. professors will team-teach with black Technikon professors, encouraging the latter to assume leadership roles within the system and to seek leaves of absence in pursuit of their own advanced degrees. Secondly, the project will provide two levels of training to black professionals in the banking and financial sectors. A Historically Black College or University (HBCU) will conduct three annual 4-week courses in South Africa for a total of 75 junior bankers in such subjects as the fundamentals of banking, accounting, credit and risk analysis, foreign exchange, international banking, etc; recruitment of women bankers will be aggressively pursued. A second program, designed along the lines of IFESH"s highly successful "Best and Brightest" program, will provide a 30-day course in the United States for 75 mid-level bankers and other professionals from the financial services sector. The course will include both formal training and informal meetings with U.S. and international agencies such as the U.S. Department of State, the World Bank, the Export-Import Bank, etc. The possibility of providing internships with U.S. banks will be explored. Thirdly, Opportunities Industrialization Centers International (OICI), operating under a subgrant, will establish a technical training center in the KwaZulu Natal region for unemployed youth and other disadvantaged individuals. The center will be staffed by South Africans and will provide classroom and hands-on training in industrial and construction skills such as welding, electrical, masonry, plumbing, heating and air conditioning, and carpentry. The program will provide certification services for all graduates in the building trades, and will make efforts to affiliate graduates in an apprenticeship program or work position.