South Africa's young professionals are set to receive some much-needed recognition with the launch of the Rising Star Awards.
Open to any professionals younger than 40 in any field of business who have been identified by either their peers or superiors as rising stars, the competition offers a unique chance for entrants to build a viable network among themselves, ultimately creating better opportunities for others.
Nominations, open since December last year, close at the end of the month, with the winners set to be announced on 11 June. The competition was initiated by Rising Star Managing Director Laura Swart, who has enlisted the help of Human Capital Institute Africa to develop the event.
Rising Star Director Alister Swart said they believed talent was the only sustainable competitive advantage in a global knowledge economy. “Once we have identified these talented individuals in each sector, we can create an intellectual platform to educate those entering corporate SA, embrace the 21st century business models and management practices.”
Swart added that the fact that competitors would compete against their own peers would ensure the selection of the best candidate from each sector, regardless of race or gender. “Our judging process is also a lot more robust, as we need each nominee to answer a series of questions before putting forward a written motivation. Each candidate needs to be backed up by human resources or a direct manager.” The top eight from each industry would then be interviewed by industry leaders, and four will be invited back to give a presentation to the judging panel.
One of the young professionals who has entered is Ian Munro, Head of Professional Services at Business Systems Group (BSG) Africa, a solutions delivery company. The 34-year-old said he believed such competitions were extremely important as a way to highlight inspiring stories in SA, where such stories were commonplace, but often went unnoticed. “This competition also has potential to bring together a community of entrepreneurs who believe at their core that reaching potential is important - for individuals, for businesses, for industries, and for communities - and are actively following their beliefs,” Munro added. He was identified as a rising star by his colleagues after 11 years as an IT consultant, and eight years at BSG Africa.
* Entrants should contact Laura Swart at (076) 370 849 or e-mail laura@risingstar.co.za.
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