Barnstone Academy, the Barnstone Group's innovative and practical solution to graduate unemployment, is currently in the process of helping its second intake gain the skills they need in business. The eight trainees are being put through a tough nine-week course to equip them for a future career in consulting.
"Our approach is very practical and grew out of some work we were doing for a client more than two years ago," says Mike Shorten, a senior consultant at Barnstone and the course co-ordinator. "We needed some highly skilled young people to handle a high-pressure, temporary assignment on a mine, and we then started to question why they had not yet found permanent employment. The answer was often lack of experience and business savvy, and the Barnstone Academy was our response."
Six of the 12 members of the first intake are now employed by Barnstone.
The current course is intensive and builds on the lessons learned the first time round. Each week, a particular topic is covered during morning lectures, with the afternoons devoted to case work. On Fridays, each individual has to present his or her case to a panel of Barnstone executives. This hones a vital consulting skill: the ability to communicate complex ideas understandably.
Lectures are given by Barnstone consultants, who sacrifice their own time to do so. It's an approach that gives trainees access to lessons learned the hard way, and is testimony to the individual company members' commitment to the project.
Topics covered include how a business works, technology and business, project management, financial management, training skills and general business skills. The final two weeks are spent on a real-life project.
Geoffrey Marutla was one of the original intake, and now has a career as a strategy and project management consultant with Barnstone. "Many of us came from non-business backgrounds, and the Academy helped us to build our understanding of what business is all about," he says. "We learned a lot of valuable things, among them IT, project management and even how to engage with clients."
Palesa Mzotho is one of the seven women in this year's intake of eight trainees. She has a BA degree in HR and public management and governance from the University of Johannesburg, but was finding it hard to land a job. "People want somebody with a bit of experience," she explains. "That's why, when I heard about the Barnstone Academy, I was very eager to get a place."
Mzotho says she is learning a lot on the course, with the three modules already completed, having given her a whole new perspective on how business works, IT and project management. She is optimistic that what she is learning, combined with the all-important client experience, will help kick-start her career. "In 10 years, I want to be a senior HR executive for a very good company," she says with enthusiasm.
Shorten is also upbeat about the programme's value. "We and our clients have found that this approach really does help young people with book-learning to acquire additional skills they need to become desirable employees," he says. "We also see a huge opportunity to expand the Academy if other companies sponsor their recent or prospective hires to attend."
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