BCX hires learners

Johannesburg, 04 Sept 2007

JSE-listed IT services company Business Connexion (BCX) has offered full-time employment to all learners graduating from its 2006/07 skills development programme.

Of the 139 university graduates taken on in the last year, 130 have graduated and received job offers from the company.

BCX set up the skills development programme in 2005, to support the national skills development strategy and address the ICT industry's skills constraints.

CEO Benjamin Mophatlane explains: "Skills development is something that I am personally very passionate about. Our programme has played a part in government's initiatives; however, it has also been a key part of our need to gear up for our growth strategy."

Mophatlane says the company has looked at its three- to five-year strategy and planned its skills development plan accordingly. It is this plan that resulted in the company's ability to offer employment opportunities to its graduates.

Addressing equity

The skills development programme also provided BCX with a channel to improve its employment equity standings.

"Black economic empowerment (BEE) is another topic which is close to my heart. At the moment, about 33% of our 4 500-strong workforce is from a previously disadvantaged background. We have a lot of work to do, but we believe that investing in the number of entry-level skills available to the ICT industry is the best solution for us, the industry and society at large," explains Mophatlane.

"Fortunately, this commitment to BEE has been accepted and embraced by our management teams."

Ninety-two percent of BCX's initial student intake was from previously disadvantaged backgrounds, and 47% of the total intake was made up of women from previously disadvantaged backgrounds.

As it plans its 2008 intake of 235 students, Mophatlane says the company hopes to continue with the same equity percentages.

He acknowledges that some of the company's competitors have tried to rein in workforce size as a way to improve profit margins and grow the bottom line. However, this strategy is not suitable for BCX, he says.

"Technology tools are always going to equal workforce reductions. However, I believe the company's growth strategy will see us able to absorb between 100 and 200 graduates a year. We are, in essence, a knowledge company; we cannot afford to shy away from feeding that knowledge."