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SAICA-accredited CTA / PGDA
We all love choice, and students are always asking me what options are better for them, so I thought I’d find out more about CA Connect, to give you as a student more info.
CA Connect has been assisting students with their CTA studies since 2010. In 2019, they got their SAICA accreditation to offer CTA / PGDA to students themselves (ie: You can register for PGDA with them, write exams etc, and be eligible for ITC). They’re also the first fully online CTA / PGDA option. They are part of Milpark, but operate as CA Connect, as the name students are familiar with.
Gareth Olivier CA(SA)
Gareth is the programme head for CA Connect’s PGDA programme. He was kind enough to give me some time out of his busy schedule to chat to me, via a video chat, for your benefit.
You can find out more about him, and his team on their site.
Everyone has a bucket of failure that they have to get out the way. Take your bucket and chuck it out as quickly as possible!
CA Connect (Milpark)
Check out details of their PGDA / CTA online programme:
Our video chat
Points of interest from our chat
I’ve taken points of interest from our chat, and indicated where in the above video you’ll find the discussion. You can also click on the points, it will take you straight to that point in the video (on YouTube)
Gareth’s background (0:34)
Are you happy? (For students to consider!) (3:58)
selfauthoring.com recommendation (4:13)
Stuff students should think about in terms of their career plans (6:10)
Are you working towards adding value to society? (7:58)
Intro: CA Connect Programme (9:00)
Exam Centres (13:10)
Intake for Feb and July (14:40)
The Bridging programme (15:58)
Will a UNISA student pass at CA Connect? (18:44)
Students who struggle to approach lecturers (24:18)
How to help struggling students? (26:06)
You need a community (29:00)
Learning about what learning actually is! (31:00)
What would you say to current 3rd years? (31:42)
Talking about failure (32:38)
“We all have a bucket of failure” (34:16)
How is CTA / PGDA different to undergrad? (34:44)
To a student who’s used to cramming… (37:09)
What do we mean when we say “You don’t know your basics” in CTA? (37:59)
What’s the use / value of what you’re studying? Are you learning to be Google? (38:45)
What do you want to say to a new CTA / PGDA student? (41:49)
Bug your lecturers! (45:04)
What support do you offer students? (42:52)
What is CA Connect’s vision? (48:39)
Learning should be fun! (55:09)
Contact details (56:09)
Gareth recommends that all CTA students go through selfauthoring.com as part of your CTA prep
Contact details
CA Connect (Milpark)
Check out their website here
Contact them for queries regarding PGDA / CTA, Bridging to CTA / PGDA, and any queries you have about studying with them.
2020 Registration
Registration closes for the February 2020 intake, at the end of January.
Registration for mid-year intake opens in April 2020
1 Comment
Hi Yvonne,
I have watched two videos where you interviewed the staff at Milpark and I really got to see first hand how Gareth and the team were going to connect with us through online learning. I joined the bridging course on half workload and so far I am really enjoying it. The jump from a degree to the bridging is real. I remember ordering my first set of books and the last thing I expected was to get 5 IFRS books :D. I am part of a fantastic motivating study group and through this I have found my duplicate in male form, we study the same crazy hours and we enjoy our one hour sessions. We enjoy pushing each other to get in the practice questions and the needed hours.
Where I am struggling is figuring out how to summarise the information. The lesson that CA Connect have put together are amazing and I do have notes on onenote from every lesson but because of the amount information we need to retain rote learning would never cut it at this stage of the game. Not that I like to rote learn (It is exhausting and boring).
I was wondering how your courses could benefit me and still not take away time from my current studies and study partner (it is an accountability thing, we are only as strong as our team mates and I believe we bring each other up together and not alone, so I would really not like to give that up).
Any feedback would be amazing, I also watched so many of your husbands videos whilst doing my degree, imagine my luck when I stumbled across Milpark interviews and thought wow Yvonne really gets us as students, and then to learn that my youtube tutor was your husband haha, I definitely feel like I have come full circle on this journay and I just want to capitalise on the time I have to learn everything possible to be a great CA (if God permits).