Sage South Africa has acquired SkillsMap, an online platform that connects employers in South Africa and the rest of the continent with potential candidates.
The acquisition broadens Sage's payroll and HR offering with a comprehensive recruitment solution. Also, it positions Sage as the only provider in the market to offer payroll and HR, an applicant tracking system and a job posting site in one solution, says Anton van Heerden, MD of Sage HR and Payroll.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
SkillsMap will have access to HR, payroll and traditional recruitment services to achieve its full potential, he adds.
The software solution will be branded as Sage SkillsMap and will eventually integrate to both Sage VIP and Sage Pastel's payroll and HR systems and will also improve the Sage VIP recruitment offering, says Sage in a statement.
The solution enables employers to manage their own recruitment process - filtering candidates, consolidating data and tracking placements. For a monthly subscription fee, it gives companies access to an applicant tracking system, public talent community and customised client career portal, it adds.
Van Heerden says the applicant tracking system will allow recruiters to target as many candidates as the employers desire, filtering and screening applicants on their behalf. The Sage SkillsMap talent community will provide a professional networking platform for candidates to map their current skill level and create a roadmap for their own career planning, he adds.
Users can export job specifications from the HR system to SkillsMap as well as import a successful job applicant's details from SkillsMap to the payroll and HR software.
"With the acquisition of SkillsMap, we want to help our customers appoint the best candidates in the most efficient and affordable way. Since this software is cloud-based, users don't need to invest in any infrastructure themselves to take advantage of its benefits. SkillsMap is accessible and affordable to all," says Van Heerden.
He points out most organisations are adding online recruitment to their traditional recruitment methods. "As such, it's important for any recruitment firm today to have a strong online offering. For that reason, it made sense for Sage to buy an online recruitment solution provider such as SkillsMap rather than trying to build its own platform from scratch."
"Sage is an excellent fit for our business, and I am looking forward to working with the team in the months to come. Along with Sage, we are able to offer a complete recruitment solution for companies that need access to specialised, high-calibre talent," concludes Heidi Duvenage, business manager at Sage SkillsMap.
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