Page 7 - CAO Annual Report 2023-24

CENTRAL APPLICATIONS OFFICE
The CAO has made great strides in a number of areas which include being a financially sustainable organization, continuously improving the systems and processes within the organization, ensuring that our IT system is improved and is kept up to date in respect of meeting current day processing and digital requirements, enhancing the skill requirement and needs of the organization and responding favorably to the Department of Education and Training in respect of the signed collaborative agreement between two parties towards assisting in the establishment of a National Applications Service.
An important consideration for the CAO’s success is to be a financially sustainable organization. To this end careful management of the finances has been a strong factor in the management of the overall organization. This has allowed the organization to remain a viable organization, continuously spending money on technological advancements and employing skilled technical staff. Equally by ensuring good management of finances, the CAO has been able to improve its services in areas such as career education information. A noteworthy feat has been to ensure that students from the length and breadth of the Province of Kwa-Zulu Natal have access to career information as well as on application processes for the respective academic programs at the Universities and Colleges in KwaZulu-Natal.
Given that the CAO is required to be a lean and agile organization following good business principles and practices, the importance of great staff cannot be underscored. To this end the organization
continues to have competent staff, many long serving. The organization continues to ensure that it promotes diversity in its workforce. Equally the organization ensures that it is community responsive to its clients, making bursaries and other opportunities available through its enterprise development spend.
The CAO remains a vital organization in ensuring that it runs a seamless professional and simple application process for the students who wish to apply and be considered for a place at one of the Universities or colleges in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal. The reality that continues to face South Africa, is that we are a nation of young people. Hence as they complete their schooling and begin to seek further and higher education, the need to increase opportunities for post-school education becomes even more critical. To this end CAO remains a willing partner to find solutions to these problems with all the other role players in this sector.
Equally important is the contribution and collaboration that CAO has with the Department of Higher Education and Training in respect of supporting the development of the Central Application System (CAS). To this end it requires that the CAO operates three different high-volume operations that cover the CAO, CAS and CACH. The latter two are collaborative work for the Department of Higher Education and Training. A significant effort is being put in by the CAO team during the pilot test phase for CAS.
My thanks go to the CEO, Staff and Board of Directors. for another year of stability, achievements, and successes at the CAO.
An important consideration for the CAO’s success is to be a financially sustainable organization. To this end careful management of the finances has been a strong factor in the management of the overall organization.
ANNUAL REPORT 2023/2024 5