Basking in the success of its BI graduate programme, Synergy Business Intelligence has embarked on a similar strategy that will see it not only expand its financial performance management (FPM) division, but will also give postgraduate students the opportunity to hone their skills under the mentorship of expert senior consultants.
Synergy's BI graduate programme was introduced six years ago, and it has paid off. “The majority of participants have remained loyal employees who have honed their professional and technical skills and, having been exposed to and grounded in all aspects of BI, have found their fit and are flourishing in their areas of specialisation,” said Synergy BI MD, Christo Bredenkamp.
“We have experienced first-hand the value of a graduate programme, which is why we didn't hesitate to craft a similar programme for our FPM arm.”
Synergy's Cape Town branch manager, Vera Chaplin, explained that the three or four graduates taken on annually undergo a combination of classroom learning, on-the-job training and product training.
“The two-year BI programme is organic, hands-on and aims at producing solid all rounders with a broad base of knowledge and expertise. It kicks off with a couple of months of intensive training, after which graduates are mentored by senior Synergy consultants, who, in the case of the BI programme, are often former programme participants themselves.
“It is as rewarding for the individual to move up the hierarchy in the company as it is for management to see young people mature into successful consultants.”
Whereas the BI programme has historically targeted Cape Town honours graduates, the FPM equivalent is ready and set to rollout in Joburg.
“Our FPM programme will provide training on IBM Cognos TM1 software, including budgeting, forecasting, reporting, consolidations and modelling. Once trained, graduates will then be placed at a customer site - and in Joburg, that will be a blue-chip organisation - where they will work within an experienced team.
“A typical FPM graduate programme candidate is a BCom/CIMA/B.Bus.Sci graduate with a passion for technology, good technical and business skills, well versed in drawing up management reports, consolidations and budgeting, and excellent verbal and written communication skills,” explained Chaplin.
“We are excited about this programme - and the prospects for the right graduate - as FPM is one of the fastest growing areas in the IT market, with consultants utilising both their business and IT skills to deliver cutting-edge solutions to business,” said Bredenkamp.
Joburg-based graduates interested in applying for the FPM programme can contact Chris Hewitt (chris.hewitt@synergy.co.za).
Synergy BI, comprising 75 people with offices in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, is increasingly looked to by companies to assist them with the formulation and execution of a comprehensive information delivery strategy.
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