𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝟗𝟎 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐔𝐬 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐝𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐉𝐨𝐛𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭.
There is a photograph in the World ORT archive that stops you in your tracks.

Taken at King David School in Johannesburg in 1952, it shows children bent over wooden workbenches, hands moving with purpose as they learn woodwork, a reliable path to work in post-war South Africa.

It is a quietly powerful image. But what makes it remarkable is what it represents: ninety years of an organisation that has never stopped asking a simple question:

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭?
That question has shaped ORT South Africa since its founding in 1936.

In the 1940s and 1950s, South Africa’s growing industries demanded skilled labour. ORT SA responded with precision, placing more than 1,200 individuals into 80 trades, from textiles and electrical work to mechanical engineering and the motor industry. Bursaries ensured financial barriers did not prevent access to opportunity.

The principle was already clear:
𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
Sometimes the impact of education begins with a single conversation.

As a teenager, Beverly Cohen sat with an ORT counsellor unsure how to translate her many interests into a career. She excelled academically but felt pulled between science, music, and drama.

The counsellor listened carefully and suggested a path she had never considered: optometry.
That small suggestion shaped her future. Beverly went on to become a professor of optometry in the United States and later supported ICT programmes that introduced coding and robotics to South African schools.

𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫.
𝐀 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
That is the long arc of well-timed guidance.

𝐀 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐨 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲
The 1990s marked a turning point for South Africa. The end of apartheid reshaped not only politics, but access to education and economic opportunity.

ORT SA responded by expanding science and technology education. Through programmes like ORT-STEP, teachers in disadvantaged communities were equipped to deliver stronger mathematics and science education.

During this period, Terence Selwoa became the first Black student to receive an ORT SA bursary, a milestone that reflected a broader commitment to expanding opportunity in a newly democratic South Africa.

The transition to democracy was not only political. It was educational and economic, and closing opportunity gaps became essential.

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐬
By the 2000s, the nature of work was changing again. Digital skills became essential, yet access remained uneven.

ORT SA followed the economy once more.

Teacher training expanded. Programmes introduced digital literacy into under-resourced communities. Initiatives supported educators in translating knowledge into effective teaching.

The guiding insight remained unchanged:
𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞.

Today, the pace of change is faster than ever. Artificial intelligence, automation, and emerging technologies are reshaping industries, while youth unemployment remains one of South Africa’s greatest challenges.

Through its Career Hub, STEM Academy, IT Academy, and entrepreneurship programmes, ORT SA is building pathways into the future of work, emphasising adaptability, problem-solving, and digital skills.

The workbench of 1952 has been replaced by screens.
But the principle remains the same:
𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.

𝐀 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥-𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞
Tanaka began as a learner in ORT SA’s Let Kidz Code programme.

What started as basic exposure to coding became a pathway into opportunity.

Today, Tanaka works at the Raspberry Pi Foundation, helping review ORT SA as a strategic partner in delivering coding clubs that will reach thousands of learners across the Eastern Cape.

𝐀 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫.
𝐀 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫.
That is what long-term impact looks like.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐀𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝
Across ninety years, ORT South Africa has remained focused on one truth:
𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭.
Bridging that gap has defined ORT SA’s work for decades and will continue to shape its future.
The world beyond the classroom looks very different today than it did in 1936. But the mission remains the same:
𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞.