Black economic empowerment (BEE) is seen as a vital contributor towards sustained and equal development of all the people of South Africa, and is an opportunity for local businesses to work together to redress the imbalances of the past.
This can be achieved through an active programme of procurement from previously disadvantaged businesses, development through training and mentorship, investment in social responsibility, and through increasing the participation of previously disadvantaged individuals in the formal economy.
For this reason, a rating service that allows companies to measure their levels of BEE in an efficient, dynamic and transparent manner has been instituted, in the form of m-PowerRatings.
As a company that provides network and system infrastructure design, implementation, maintenance and support to companies looking to exploit technology to meet specific business needs, Artec is an organisation that understands that need to be BEE-compliant.
According to Andre Schumyn, financial manager at Artec, the m-PowerRatings system allows the organisation to measure its levels of BEE and develop its own BEE scorecard.
"Working to the formula devised by m-PowerRatings, Artec scores well over 60% in terms of its BEE rating, which is largely due to the fact that the majority of our purchases are made from BEE companies, as well as thanks to the skills development and training and corporate social responsibility programmes we have instituted," he says.
"A key factor in this is that Artec spends a percentage of its annual turnover on developing skills and providing training for previously disadvantaged individuals (PDIs)."
He points out that the company has scored m-PowerRating points for a number of aspects, including the fact that a number of managers and some 55% of the company`s accounts staff are classified as PDI.
"We are also working hard on the skills transfer aspect, having taken on five learners from a technical college who are being shown the ropes on site and being trained as they go," he says.
"The ultimate goal is to make them part of the permanent staff, and thereby continue their further education and training."
He also claims that as part of an ongoing training programme, all the organisation`s technical consultants are enrolled in a course to become Microsoft 2003 certified, particularly as Artec is a Microsoft Gold Partner.
"The m-PowerRatings are focused on four areas of the business, notably training, ownership, procurement and corporate social responsibility, and at present - thanks in part to the work that we do with the Twilight Children`s Organisation - we are compliant in three of these four."
"While we do not qualify for a rating in terms of equity shareholding, we are currently in negotiations with certain players, so although we are aware this is a problem area, we are obviously working to redress this issue."
Schumyn says that one thing Artec does not believe in is the concept of `window-dressing`, as there is no point in getting someone who cannot do the job properly on board, just in order to satisfy the need for BEE.
"We believe in true empowerment, so our plan is to bring staff in from the base level and train them up so that they can become the corporate leaders of tomorrow."
"People such as this represent the future of our company, and as such, we feel it is imperative to look after them properly," concludes Schumyn.
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For over a decade, Artec has provided network and system infrastructure design, implementation, maintenance and support to companies looking to exploit technology to meet specific business needs. Artec is renowned for its superlative levels of customer service and trusted advice, backed by the expertise, best practices and skills that empower it to re-organise, re-engineer and re-structure IT networks and computer systems - a technology partner that delivers maximum business value. Artec is also actively investing in Black Economic Empowerment initiatives.
A Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, Artec offers flexible outsourcing options and a full managed services facility, and is also an associate consultant company for Microsoft Africa.
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