The purpose of this Certificate is to equip learners to understand and acquaint themselves with the underlying principles of all of the major areas related to distribution within the Wholesale & Retail sector, thus enabling them to become more effective employees. The Certificate further aims to provide career paths through various levels and areas of the Wholesale and Retail environment thus promoting the notion of quality lifelong learning. By assisting in the development of competence in the Wholesale and Retail field (arguably one of the bigger, more labour intensive and therefore important arenas for social and economic transformation in the country), this Certificate will provide a stepping-stone for further learning in the Further Education and Training Band.
The Certificate in Wholesale and Retail Distribution, NQF Level 2, is designed to meet the needs of the learners who are already employed and involved in Wholesale, Distribution or Mail Order Retail within the Wholesale and Retail field. Additionally, however, it may also allow access to, and meet the needs and aspirations of the youth and unemployed who wish to pursue a career in these areas, or in fields where this learning may be useful. This furthermore includes adult learners who want to enter the arena or develop their careers in one or more of the related sub-fields. As this Certificate may form part of a learning pathway it may allow mobility to persons operating at any level in the field.
This Certificate provides learners with a grounding in all areas of Distribution. This may enable them not only to increase their productivity within the Wholesale and Retail Sector but also to apply their learning in various other business environments.
This qualification can be achieved wholly or in part through the Recognition of Prior Learning. The Qualification may be granted to learners who have acquired the skills and knowledge without attending formal courses providing they can demonstrate competence in the outcomes of the individual Unit Standards as required by the Fundamental, Core and Elective areas stipulated in the Qualification and by the Exit Level Outcomes.
An RPL process may also be used to credit learners with Unit Standards in which they have developed the necessary competency as a result of workplace and experiential learning
Learners submitting themselves for RPL should be thoroughly briefed prior to the assessment, and may be required to submit a Portfolio of Evidence in the prescribed format to be assessed for formal recognition. While this is primarily a workplace-based Qualification, evidence from other areas of endeavour may be introduced if pertinent to any of the exit level outcomes.
