‘Sweet spot’ for trainers in new tech work world

As the industry braces for a brave new world of automation, robotics, wearable technology and autonomous vehicles, the world of work is set for dramatic change.“With the increased use of technology – soft, medium and high – a number of jobs and functions may become redundant,” says Juliette Fourie, CEO of training provider Metro Minds.

“That doesn’t speak to our National Skills Plan targets at all and could be seen as a barrier against technology,” she says. “The use of technology could also possibly impact the thinking process and result in a lack of critical thinking. If processes are so automated that the person cannot think out of the box or solve a complex problem, it could be to the detriment of a business.” On the up side, however, in the education space digital learning and simulation have helped to develop people who are more work ready and more productive, says Fourie.

She points out that while technology can assist in many processes, it cannot replace customer engagement and the managing of relationships between stakeholders. “This will become a more scarce skill due to the different way in which we communicate. This remains an area where coaching, mentoring and skills development has a sweet spot in the evolution of technology.” And Fourie believes that technology and innovation should work together. “We have been able to identify many innovations in our business – using soft, medium and hard technology – to optimise education. “In addition to our “Act it Out Customs Simulator” and Workplace Simulators – which have already achieved great success – new products are in the pipeline … watch this space.”

Industry urged to get wise to new BEE codes now

Transformation will remain on the South African agenda no matter who is in office at the Union Buildings. Adapting strategies to incorporate broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) into business, embracing the policies and meeting sector code requirements will deliver far more rewards than a head-in- the-sand approach.

Addressing members of the Exporters’ Club Western Cape recently, Juliette Fourie, CEO of Metro Minds, said transformation remained a top priority judging by recent comments by new President Cyril Ramaphosa. While the new B-BBEE codes have not yet been gazetted, it is just a matter of time. Preparing your business for these codes is far wiser than doing nothing and being caught off guard.” Fourie said as training providers servicing largely the logistics and related industries, the company had been inundated with B-BBEE questions.

“It’s a clear indication of the important role it plays in our businesses today, but also that it is a complex subject that is often misunderstood or misinterpreted.” She told exporters to take the time to familiarise themselves with the new codes which were focused on three pillars – ownership, skills development, and procurement spend for enterprise and supplier development.

“Far too often we encounter companies who are wanting to tick the boxes and are spending money unwisely as they scramble to make sure they are compliant with the codes,” she said. B-BBEE had to be approached in conjunction with a company’s long-term strategic objectives and skills development, she added. With the old codes companies were set a target across seven pillars, depending on the industry in which they operated, which if met set them at a specific level.

“The new codes however are focused on three priority pillars only and that is where companies need to put their focus. ”She said the codes did not demand that businesses hand over their ownership to black employees as was often believed. “Ownership comes in many shapes and sizes. It is not about giving your business away, but restructuring it. ”She advised companies to get legal experts to assist in this. “One of the areas where companies can really benefit with the B-BBEE codes is with skills development, utilising training initiatives like learnerships. This is an easy pillar to achieve – and while it requires money to be spent, if done strategically and properly there is true long-term benefit for the company in terms of its talent pool.”

Skills can be developed in the form of bursaries, registered internships, learnerships, apprenticeships, work integrated learning, informal learning and informal or formal training. “Our advice to companies is to first draw up a strategy of the skills they will need over the long term and then spread the spend widely across the organisation into skills development,” she said. “It is about planning properly, looking at what you can spend and then doing that wisely. ”This she said would not only see a company complying with the codes but also reap the rewards of skills investment.

Double honours for skills development organisation

Skills development organisation Metro Minds scored double honours at the annual Supply Chain Management Education Excellence Awards (SCMEEA) in Midrand last week. The company took third place for ‘Organisation of the Year’ while project and training executive Lynne Shale took second place for ‘Facilitator of the Year’.

The SCMEEAs, hosted by Sapics, recognises individuals, organisations and learning institutions that not only acknowledge the shortage of skills and training but contribute to the skills development of the supply chain.

‘Organisation of the Year’ is open to educational institutions that deliver results through quality and relevant educational programmes in supply chain management. ‘Facilitator of the Year’, agreed upon by a panel, represents an individual who successfully presents supply chain management courses and workshops.

Junior to senior gap needs to be bridged

There is a “huge disparity” in skills between junior entrants to the freight and logistics industry and their more experienced senior counterparts, which contributes significantly to the dearth of skills in the sector. Unfortunately, career paths and talent pipelines were not given the proper attention – and while executives wanted skilled people, they were also not willing to invest in a long-term plan, said CEO of Metro Minds, Juliette Fourie. Education was not part of a “quick fix”, she added.

“As a private sector, we have inherited the poor education system of our country and we need to be realistic about how we will generate talent for the future. It is vital to include talent management as part of an overall business strategy,” she said, adding that training and education stakeholders in the industry were still pursuing the need to formalise and professionalise specialised skills in the freight sector. Fourie pointed to “extensive research” which showed that critical skills, problem-solving, decision-making and leadership were all the qualities needed to elevate a staff member from operational to strategic level.

“However, due to the fact that many skills are not recognised as “professional”, companies have depended on learnership programmes to develop talent. “What many don’t recognise is that a learnership can also only be successful if it is linked to mentoring, coaching and successful workplace guidance. Learnerships are still a fantastic way to start a pathway of talent, but these programmes need to continue for a three-to five-year cycle in order to properly bridge the junior to senior gap,” explained Fourie.

Degreed job seekers need workplace readiness

Recruiters are increasingly looking to appoint people with degrees, but even a formal tertiary education does not equip new job entrants with workplace readiness and an innate understanding of the industry, according to Juliette Fourie, CEO of specialist industry training company, Metro Minds.

“We believe that simulation and work readiness programmes to address the gap in skills will become more popular. The more practical skills the new recruit arrives with, the better,” she said, adding that while artificial intelligence was “very real”, the freight and logistics industry still needed people to perform certain tasks.

“It is not necessarily the technical knowledge that lets the employer down but the behavioural part which is driven by emotions and attitude,” she said. Fourie pointed out that Metro Minds had extended its training programmes from the traditional skills analysis, recruitment, gap year, talent pipeline management offerings into simulated learning spaces and interactive online programmes. “We also still function as a faculty in the higher education space with private universities,” she said.

Integration key to successful distribution

A successful distribution strategy is based on the successful integration of systems, technology, people, processes and innovation. An effective system, along with proper training of staff and educating the client on the process and timelines will ensure on-time delivery. This is the view of Juliette Fourie, CEO of specialist training company Metro Minds, which offers the National Certificate: Supply Chain Management NQF Level 5 with a specialisation in distribution and logistics.

What is necessary, she says, is a vision from a company’s leadership to understand the holistic picture in order to align the business strategy with the distribution strategy. Fourie believes technology is “extremely important” in ensuring a successful distribution model, along with the knowledge and understanding of how to properly deploy it to improve business processes. “Technology does not start and stop with the internet or IT systems. It is about how technology has contributed to customer satisfaction, effective processes, automation, time-saving, cost reduction at input level and value-adding activities at the output level,” she comments, pointing out that technology is not discussed and explored enough at secondary and tertiary education levels.

Metro Minds has placed in the finals twice in a row in the Da Vinci Top Technology 100 (TT100) Business Innovation Awards Programme for what Fourie describes as the company’s ability to bring innovation in technology in the way it provides its training. The workplace simulators implemented by Metro Minds last year – providing real-life work experiences via simulation – focus on logistics and distribution as an area of specialisation.

“Workplace simulators are recommended for first-time industry and job entrants but could also form part of the related logistics learnerships, using the existing education successes and integrating workplace simulation into the programmes,” explains Fourie. She adds that the simulation is also used in Metro Minds’ skills programmes for employed staff to upskill, refresh and evaluate their skills levels.

Training provider adds gap year programme

For graduates and prospective employees to gain access to the limited opportunities in the work environment, they need to improve and educate themselves as well as keep current within their respective industries. That’s the view of Juliette Fourie, CEO of training provider Metro Minds, who believes that while employment opportunities are limited in Gauteng, it remains a hub for most decision makers.

“At a tertiary level, the lack of practical skills is evident and graduates are really struggling to adapt to the workplace and perform well, and are not as productive as organisations want them to be. Due to the lack of practical thinking at these levels, it is paramount that private institutions invest in the development of more simulated and practical programmes,” said Fourie. Simulated training helped improve productivity and performance, reduce errors and build confidence in the workplace, creating a more effective employee, she added.

She pointed out that a 2012 study had found that within the oil and gas industry alone simulated learning had reflected – on average – a total saving of US$15.3 million per plant per year. In addition to its wide training portfolio, Metro Minds now offers a Gap Year Programme to enable matriculants to achieve formal qualifications by exposing them to practical experience in many different kinds of businesses.

‘Fit for purpose’ programmes improve companies’ talent pools

In the logistics industry a dearth of skills is only part of the problem. More critical, says CEO of training provider Metro Minds, Juliette Fourie, is the huge gap between any tertiary qualification and the world of work. “A study undertaken by the Aberdeen Group (2013) indicated that only 10% of researched organisations said that their new, inexperienced job-entrants were ready to contribute and perform from their joining time,” Fourie told FTW.

“Researching and analysing this ourselves, we discovered that new entrants lacked critical thinking, industry experience, general business acumen and personal leadership ability.” All of which can be addressed in a simulated environment, according to Fourie. “Our Workplace Simulator is a recent addition to our portfolio and is designed to achieve higher performing and more productive job entrants into the market, creating skilled and qualified talent for the industry in a range of disciplines – from forwarding and customs to sales, finance and supply chain. The simulated environment provides the benefit of constant, consistent and immediate feedback, preventing errors or mistakes in the future.”

“The logistic simulation has been academically researched and we have almost completed our second successful group of students. It includes multiple scenarios that reflect the reality in the workplace – from dealings with clients and following the generic process of trade to completion of documents and operating in warehousing and distribution facilities. In fact it encompasses all the activities that new entrants into the freight forwarding and logistics industry would be doing.”

It’s key to mitigating errors, says Fourie who believes that the importance of getting it right first time is underscored by the outcome if anything goes wrong and things land up in the International Court of Arbitration® which leads the resolution of international trade disputes. Metro Minds offers an end-to-end training solution that covers the many disciplines in the logistics industry. “This ranges from identifying the skills gaps to executing fit-for-purpose programmes to improve companies’ talent pools,” says Fourie.“We are extremely passionate about education and have therefore restructured our business to be a BEE Level 2 contributor so that most of our profits are allocated to an Education and Empowering Trust to benefit a larger society.”

Customised training is key in fast-paced courier industry

In the fast-paced courier industry it is essential that training companies offer flexible services to accommodate all levels of employee development. According to Juliette Fourie, CEO of Metro Minds, the focus remains on more customised programmes for the industry. “In line with the National Development Plan (NDP) our learning methods lean towards workplace-integrated learning and simulation in order to assist with the overall targets of the country’s priorities,” she said.

The objective of the NDP is to reduce unemployment to 14% by 2020 and 6% by 2030. And while skills improvement increases the chance of being employed, the throughput rate at Further education and training (FET) institutions is poor despite increased numbers of learners. “The NDP proposes realignment of the economy to look at matching labour demand with supply,” said Fourie. “It becomes crucial when and how staff are trained and educated.

In industries such as the courier sector, which is fast and never sleeps, it is essential that training providers are flexible and meet the needs of companies. ”Commenting on funding issues, Fourie said the SETA funding models remained a good place to start with development plans but they were at the same time an administrative challenge to manage. “The new broad-based black economic empowerment codes also put pressure on companies to increase their skills development spend and focus on achieving the priority targets within the codes. there is a lot of pressure on industry to be profitable, productive and comply at the same time,” she said. “this requires reframing and refocusing on how skills development, talent management, compliance and regulation targets and human capital development should be executed.”

Training provider adds focus on school leavers

Building talent and delivering work-ready individuals in the Cape region has seen training solutions provider Metro Minds change tack ever so slightly, now introducing programmes for school leavers. Having opened an office and training centre in Milnerton in Cape Town, Johannesburg-headquartered Metro Minds has significantly expanded its footprint in the Cape, says CEO and founder Juliette Fourie. “From an educational perspective we have worked hard to shift our focus from learnership programmes to a few steps earlier.”

Fourie said the company had developed several bridging programmes aimed at school leavers. “We will be hosting these programmes to make sure youth wanting to enter the workplace are more equipped and ready to take up the challenges that they often face,” she explained. “Instead of picking up the pieces when they are already on a learnership or intern programme, we would like to be part of the foundation journey just as they leave matric and get them work wise, work smart and work ready.”

Fourie said the decision to open a permanent office in the Cape was paying off, with several networking breakfasts and power hours planned for the year. The company’s newly developed simulator training based on accelerated learning – set to be implemented early in 2017 – would also be the start of driving a different education behaviour into the future, she added.

“The simulator can provide an imitation of the real work environment. This could create strong talent pipelines and also address business skills gaps like critical thinking, problem-solving, decision making and leadership development,” she said.

We would like to be part of the foundation journey just as they leave matric.– Juliette Fourie