A University of Cape Town certificate will be now be achievable and accessible to learners in remote and rural locations provided they can access the internet. The cost of the courses have also been contained to make them affordable.

As a tech start-up that focuses on the law, Africa Legal is providing the platform to enable this Pan African access. The first online course - Corporate Governance - will be available at the start of 2019. Students who complete the course will receive a University of Cape Town certificate.

UCT’s Law@work Director Irena Wasserfall said the programme had been leading the way in continuing legal education in South Africa since 1999 and that the partnership with Africa Legal was a logical next step.

“To date we have presented a range of seminars and courses dealing with various aspects of the law in the fields of labour, commercial and private and public law. Now, by partnering with Africa Legal, which brings cutting edge technology and a deep understanding of Africa’s education aspirations to the table, we are able to expand our offering across the continent.”

Irena said that Africa’s younger generations now had much higher productive employment potential than their predecessors but significant barriers remained.

“These are - access and physical distance to education institutions, affordability and finding finding relevant courses that teach skills that are fit for future jobs.”

Wendy Bampton, co-founder of Africa Legal said the platform was created to provide easier access to jobs, market insight and learning.

“A digital platform like ours, that delivers integrated learning as well as work opportunities and news, enables Africa’s current and future legal professions to build key skills.”

Bampton said Africa Legal Learning (www.learn.africa-legal.com) was designed to host courses that were shorter and more impactful and therefore easier to fit into a busy day. They could be accessed from anywhere without the need to travel.

“We continue to work with law firms, educational institutions and membership bodies to collaborate together to create courses that produce a fit for the future legal workforce”

By delivering insightful learning that inspires more aspiring professionals to achieve promotions, gain employment or achieve more at work than they would have done otherwise was “incredibly important to the Africa Legal team” added co-founder Scott Cowan.

The courses will have a strong focus on the application of practical skills that those in the legal profession or in business can apply in their day to day lives and which can affect positive change in their career.

Irena Wasserfall from UCT said that for Law@work creating access to their courses across Africa was imperative to their strategy as a pan African university.

“By working together Law@work and Africa Legal bring educational and academic excellence, digital expertise and a pan Africa legal community together for the benefit of Africa - we are delighted to launch the online programme with Africa Legal.”

To find out more about UCT Law@work and Africa Legal working together or to register interest in the first course please click here