Learnerships create opportunities

With an unemployment rate of 24%, and with 73% of those unemployed under the age of 35, South Africa and the youth in particular face a bleak future if steps are not taken. One such step, resolved upon at the national skills summit in 2012, is that the unemployed must be made aware of the job possibilities available. Training and upskilling will allow them to fill existing posts and take on new roles as they are created.

 

Sandra Dunn, CEO of INSETA, says that INSETA therefore works with different organisations within the insurance industry to offer a variety of learnerships. These structured learning programmes consist of a theoretical and a practical component and led to a qualification that is registered on the National Qualification Framework (NQF).

The recent graduation of 102 new FAIS-compliant learners as part of the pilot INSETA SMME learnership demonstrates the effectiveness of learnerships to boost skills and create employment.

The SMME learnership, which offered participants 12 months of work experience, FAIS compliance, and a NQF Level 4 qualification, saw 64 previously unemployed people finding jobs immediately after they graduated.

 

SMMEs in the insurance sector have been in dire straits for a number of years because they have lost employees and skills, largely due to dissatisfaction with FAIS compliance regulations (which are perceived to be onerous), lower than expected economic growth (companies cannot expand and frequently have to contract) and increased competition from larger corporations that are moving into the micro-insurance market. Employee resignations have been high in the insurance and financial sector, with no immediate skilled replacements filling the gap.

Looking on the bright side, Dunn says there are a large number of employment options in the insurance sector for those who have the skills and desire to make use of the opportunity. Entry requirements into the insurance sector have been raised substantially thanks to the FAIS regulations, but all is not lost. Training and skills development have never been more necessary in obtaining a position but learnership programmes make it easier for entrants to cope. And FAIS-compliant leaners are the answer to overcoming some of the challenges faced by SMMEs. New entrants to the sector will not be as daunted by the compliance exams – and fresh talent is a valuable resource.

 

Dunn is particularly pleased that FAIS exam outcomes have been so strong – results have consistently been in the 90% bracket, proving that the SMME learnership has produced a set of quality learners. Learnership programmes offer a way for businesses to gain new, skilled employees at minimal costs, while the learners gain work experience and an income, which is truly a win-win scenario.

Dunn says all levels of industry, from unemployed workers through to corporations, SETAs and government, must work together for learnerships to be successful. "The Department of Higher Education and Training has created an increased sense of urgency for the SETAs to create more direct links with the workplace.

We must recognise that the ingredients for success require a common purpose, which must be foremost in our minds as we provide support mechanisms to create opportunity,” Dunn said.

Leaderships also speak to new matriculants because the Department of Higher Education is involved. School leavers are often at a loss because they have little or no opportunity to pursue higher education, and they are forced to take unskilled employment. An opportunity to develop and advance is therefore one that should be grabbed with both hands.

 

Learnerships give matriculants sector skills and qualifications that development both the individual and the sector. Even if the learners are not eventually employed by the company they train in, their industry-specific skills mean the insurance sector as a whole will benefit.

INSETA has identified a very real need within the industry and has set about meeting this need in a practical yet creative way. Companies like Iemas and Sanlam have come forward to explain how the learnerships have worked for their organisations.

 

Sovash Hefele, head of human resources at Sanlam Sky Solutions, said a key aim is to uplift communities through learnerships. This investment in learners will develop them so they can take their place in a skilled and employable workforce. Learnerships provide building blocks for the learners’ careers by providing a recognised qualification and allowing them to gain workplace experience. Hefele also said that support, mentorship and coaching mould them an individuals.

Iemas Financial Services has also put the learnerships to good use within its organisation. The company celebrated a milestone in October 2012 when its 120th learner graduated from its short-term insurance learnership.

 

Over the past decade, Iemas has embarked on 22 intakes in 11 different learnerships, in areas that include credit, asset-based financing, short-term insurance, project management, payroll, contact centre, internal audit and IT technical support.

According to Leonie Louw, manager of human resources at Iemas, of the 75 graduates that were unemployed before the learnerships, 49 were permanently employed by Iemas over the years after they had obtained their learnership qualifications. Louw said that this emphasises that learnerships stand as a viable skills development and recruitment strategy. Future employees are fed into the organisation with a much higher performance and employment retention rate. "Many of the graduates have been their careers progress over the years and they are now in managerial positions,” said Louw.

Learners are also grabbing the great opportunity on offer.

 

Stella Netshituni, one of the Iemas’s graduates who completed the short-term insurance learnership in October 2012, was hugely positive about the effect the learnership has had on her life:

"The learnership has been a very inspiring journey, I have grown as an individual; I have become more reliant on myself now that I know that am able to achieve anything I set my mind on and I have more confidence in my abilities. I have gained a lot of experience in the short-term insurance and financial industry; I believe that this learnership is going to open a lot of doors for me,” she said.

 

Top learner Refilwe Nyathi, who is now permanently employed at Commrisk Insurance Brokers, entered the programme after finishing matric and says the SMME learnership gave her an amazing opportunity.

 

"I am so thankful for the chance to enter this challenging but interesting field – it was a wonderful experience from start to finish and I could not be happier at Commrisk,” she said. "Learnerships are an avenue that should be explored across all sectors as a reliable method of skills development.”