Johannesburg, 15 Apr 2019
High-performing and secure ICT solutions provider Datacentrix recently hosted a graduation and celebration ceremony that acknowledged 98 delegates in Gauteng who have completed several programmes in various operational sectors as part of its learnership and graduate internship programmes, as well as its human capital development programme for existing employees.
"This follows on the heels of our first graduation ceremony held in November 2017, which recognised approximately 50 delegates. The recent Gauteng event also paved the way for our final ceremony, held in Cape Town at the beginning of April 2019, for another 53 delegates in our coastal region, taking our final number of graduating delegates to almost 150 for 2019," says Samukelisiwe Dube, head of Human Resources (HR) at Datacentrix.
"Since 2008, Datacentrix has welcomed hundreds of learners into the learnership and graduate internship programmes, with the aim of providing theoretical knowledge with on-the-job skills training," she adds. "We've also helped to develop existing employees through our management development programme (at executive, advanced and intermediate levels), as well as providing national certification programmes in project management and IT related programmes (for example, system support, systems development, MCSE, end-user computing and so on)."
Datacentrix supports the principle of lifelong learning, and these programmes line up nicely with its organisational strategic objective, which is to acquire and continuously develop people to help deliver on its overall business objectives.
"If we are able to do this while ensuring that lives of our employees are changed and enhanced, one day at a time, all the better," says Dube.
Special acknowledgement
Datacentrix had one stand-out top achiever across all programmes, Pheello Manamela, who Dube says is the truest representation of what the company is trying to achieve thus far.
"Manamela is humble, he takes his work seriously and does everything to the best of his abilities. His work performance is reflective of the passion he brings to his career every single day and, as he has been rated and acknowledged as a top achiever across all of our Learning Academy programmes, we couldn't think of anyone who deserved this accolade as much," she explains.
Manamela enrolled as part of the Datacentrix internship programme in 2017, after graduating from UNISA with a formal qualification in human resources management.
He says being part of the programme was a great learning experience, from joining, right through to becoming officially employed by the company.
"I've been fortunate enough to work with top-level management, which has helped me grow in so many ways, both professionally and personally," he says. "As an example, prior to joining Datacentrix, I feel I had minimal social skills, but my time here has seen me form long-lasting interpersonal working relationships, friendships akin to family, and my social and professional network grows daily.
"This experience has exceeded my expectations. I have been challenged to leave my comfort zone, to defy my own limitations and refine my career objectives. It would be over-simplifying to say I'm grateful."
What does the future hold?
"Our Learners with Disabilities programme is running for the second time since launching last year and our learners are currently enrolled for the National Certificate in End-user Computing NQF Level 3," says Dube.
"Furthermore, the ever evolving demand for requirements driven by the market and the business, along with a growing number of our employees participating in the formal programmes, we have seen space to formally launch the Datacentrix Learning Academy later this year," she concludes.
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