AID grant agreement no. 674-0309-G-SS-3101-00 with Careers Research Information Centre (CRIC) in support of its program to provide information and assistance on education and career choices, technical skills training, leadership, decision making and conflict resolution and on issues such as unemployment and social problems

Activities will be in four areas: organizational development and training; rural outreach; multimedia materials; and information management and research. CRIC will empower its regional centers to assume the functions currently provided by its centralized Career Development Unit (CDU), which provides organizational development support and training programs to urban and rural organizations on a national basis. Training of trainers will be a major feature of this effort. CRIC will continue rural outreach, its primary focus, with emphasis on CRIC"s Karoo Resource Centre (KRC), which provides information, counseling, and educational programs in 111 primary and secondary schools and in postsecondary youth development programs. This component will support new activities such as developing a network of youth groups to encourage skills development, coordinating the development of advice centers, facilitating teacher development programs, and placing rural outreach needs on a national agenda. KRC will also engage in related intensive research. CRIC"s media unit will produce and disseminate multimedia educational materials, which are used by schools, libraries, NGOs, and companies and include curriculum material for teachers, workbooks for students, posters, newsletters, and a host of other publications on topics such as unemployment, gender discrimination, and financial aid. New materials on women and work and women in technology are planned. This component will also enable CRIC to continue and/or update its Learning Roots Newspaper and radio program, which are focused on youth, education, and employment. Support for information management and research will enable CRIC to: (1) upgrade its computer facilities, create a network for sharing information between resource centers, allow public access to electronic information, and provide access to national and international databases; (2) commission research from university students/departments and hire a full-time researcher; (3) develop information packs as resources for communities and schools; and (4) develop the resource capacities of CRIC"s decentralized partner organizations.