Social Performance

ADvTECH places a high premium on its people because they add value to the lives of thousands of students, parents, job candidates and clients. Attracting and retaining South Africa’s top talent in the sectors in which we operate is critical to the long-term success of our operations. Recruitment and retention strategies that emphasise fair employment, competitive remuneration, appropriate work challenges, recognition and learning opportunities are integral in making ADvTECH a “Best Company to Work For”. Our goal is to become the employer of choice in the education and resourcing sectors, and ADvTECH participates annually in surveys to benchmark itself in these industries across the country.

In line with our philosophy of creating a great working environment for our staff, ADvTECH participated in the Deloitte “Best Company to Work For” survey and was awarded the Standard of Excellence Seal for the second consecutive year. ADvTECH introduced an initiative called ADvTALENT which is a planned, purposeful initiative to ensure the development of talent and that careerpathing and succession processes are embedded in all its operations. The number of ADvTECH employees as at 31 December 2012 was 4 037 (2011: 3 984), reflecting an increase of 1.3%.

Tabled below is the academic profile of the Group’s workforce as at 31 December 2012.

We are passionate about “Growing our own timber”, that is hiring our own graduates and promoting from within, and we currently employ 312 alumni. More than 200 young managers have attended the modular Management Development Programme since it was established in 2005. It equips aspiring managers with leadership skills, supplementing their technical or academic expertise and enables them to progress within the Group.

The Leadership Development Programme is aimed at management and is designed around leadership best practice. Its structure is flexible and focuses on identifying mechanisms to improve organisations. The key to consistent high quality service delivery lies in attracting and retaining well qualified, experienced and enthusiastic staff. ADvTECH acknowledges the positive impact of permanent employees who have served the Group with Long Service Awards.

These are presented on completion of five years’ service, and every five years thereafter. At the end of the year, 1 261 (2011: 1 087) permanent staff members had been employed by the Group for at least five years, while 542 of these staff members have been employed for ten years or more. In 2012, 243 (2011: 338) Long Service Awards were presented.