The learning assumed to be in place is only a guide in order to help the learner cope with the unit standards in the qualification. The following is the learning assumed to be in place:
- Numeracy at NQF Level 1 or equivalent.
- English (verbal and written communication skills) at NQF Level 1 or equivalent.
- A Second Language (verbal and written communication skills) at NQF Level 1 or equivalent.
- Computer operating skills at NQF Level 2 or equivalent.
Contact Centres have become key business tools - integral to the way organisations achieve their business objectives.
The contact centre industry continues to grow in the South African economy. Contact Centres continue to employ large numbers of contact centre agents on an annual basis. Therefore, the need for qualified and skilled contact centre agents is still high.
Job Opportunities
- Contact Centre Agents
- Customer Services Agents
- Team Leader
- Help Desk Consultant
- Telesales Consultant
- Client Services Consultant
This qualification should produce knowledgeable, skilled people who are able to contribute to improved productivity and efficiency within the Contact Centre industry. It should provide the means for current individuals in the Contact Centre field to receive recognition of prior learning and to upgrade their skills and knowledge base.
The qualification is structured in such a way that it exposes individuals to a set of core competencies to give a broad understanding of Contact Centre support operations and the electives, which will allow for a specialisation of competence in either a commercial or an emergency environment. It will also promote the notion of life-long learning.
A qualifying learner will be able to:
- Competently apply the knowledge, techniques and skills of End User Computing applications in the workplace.
- Understand the impact and use Information Communication and Technology (ICT) in an organisation and society.
- Improve Communication by combining communication skills with End User Computing skills.
- Improve the application of mathematical literacy in the workplace, by better utilising applicable End User Computing Applications
This qualification requires a total of 128 credits as listed below:
Fundamental component:
Fundamental: all 36 credits
Core component:
Core: all 76 credits
Elective component:
Elective unit standards totalling a minimum of 16 credits needs to be completed
On completion of this qualification, the learner will be able to:
- Identify Contact Centre customers and their needs.
- Respond to customers with factual and accurate information.
- Gather and process data specifically related to Contact Centres.
- Operate as a team member in a diverse working environment.
- Perform to the required standards and requirements.
- Implement and articulate operational activities in a Contact Centre
Module 1: Orientation to a contact centre
- Identifying and defining what a Contact Centre is
- Identifying Contact Centre principles and concepts
- Identifying the benefits of instilling in self a Contact Centre culture
- Persuading others of the benefits of a Contact Centre culture
Module 2: Business-Writing Skills
- Use a range of reading and/or viewing strategies to make meaning of texts.
- Identify the main ideas in different text types
- Read/view and respond to texts for a variety of purposes
- Identify and discuss how language structures and features may influence a reader/audience
- Write/sign for a specific purpose, audience and context
- Use grammatical structures and writing/signing conventions to produce coherent and cohesive texts
- for specific contexts
- Adapt language to suit context
- Draft and edit own writing/signing
Module 3: Language and Communication
- Find and use suitable learning resources
- Use learning strategies
- Manage occupational learning programme materials
- Plan and gather relevant information for use in each context
- Function in a team
- Reflect on how characteristics of the workplace and occupational context affect learning
Module 4: Numeracy Skills
- Use mathematics to plan and control personal and/or household budgets and income and expenditure
- Use simple and compound interest to make sense of and define a variety of situations including investments, stokvels, inflation, appreciation and depreciation
- Investigate various aspects of financial transactions including costs, prices, revenue, cost price, selling price, loss and profit.
- Use and analyse computational tools and strategies, and make estimates and approximations
- Demonstrate understanding of numbers and relationships among numbers and number systems, and represent numbers in different ways
- Convert flexibly between and within various representations of functions.
- Compare, analyse and describe the behaviour of patterns and functions.
- Estimate, measure and calculate physical quantities in practical situations.
- Explore transformations of two-dimensional geometric figures.
Module 5: Oral Communication
- Use a variety of strategies to maintain communication.
- Adapt language to accommodate socio-cultural sensitivities without losing own meaning.
- Use knowledge of language structures and conventions to shape or decode meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary or constructions.
- Organise and present information in a focused and coherent manner.
- Identify and explain how speakers/signers influence audiences.
Module 6: Diversity of a Contact Centre
- Communicating within a diverse environment - internal and external.
- Interacting within a diverse environment both within a Contact Centre and to external customers.
Module 7: Problem Solving in a Contact Centre
- Obtain and evaluate project information to facilitate Contact Centre problem solving
- Provide advice and support regarding received information to facilitate problem solving
Module 8: Service Excellence in a Contact Centre
- Identify customer needs in a Contact Centre
- Respond to customer needs in a Contact Centre
- Identify the customer's problem
- Commit to solving the customer complaint
- Arrange correct planning and solutions to the customer's problems
- Communicate with all stakeholders
- Provide practical business solutions
Module 9: Telephone Skills in an Inbound Contact Centre
- Demonstrating and applying knowledge of computer packages within a Contact Centre
- Using a computerised system
- Retrieving calls from customers
- Identifying customer needs in a Contact Centre
Module 10: Working in Teams in a Contact Centre
- Communicating with all relevant stakeholders to enhance teamwork
- Reporting on team progress to appropriate authority and team
- Displaying tendencies to work with others as a member of a Contact Centre team
- Handling and resolving areas of conflict
Module 11: Working in an Emergency Contact Centre
- Retrieving calls within a Contact Centre from customers in emergency situations
- Documenting information from customers in emergency situations
- Responding within a Contact Centre to emergencies
- Following up on customers in emergency situations
Module 12: Telesales
- Placing calls to customers
- Recording information from customer
- Responding to queries from customers
- Providing follow up to customers' request
