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Bidvest company, Konica Minolta South Africa has embarked on an innovative journey to strengthen its sales force and at the same time assist in creating skills and job opportunities in the sales and marketing field.
Together with SETA accredited, sales training consultancy, Mercuri International, Konica Minolta South Africa came up with a solution that would both increase its sales division and, importantly, empower employees with the right skills to accomplish their jobs efficiently, says Laetitia Coetzer, special projects manager at Konica Minolta South Africa.
The solution is South Africas very first Sales and Marketing Learnership Programme registered with the Services SETA. As there was no registered programme incorporating both these subjects previously, Mercuri International and Aasifa Omar from accredited training provider, Perform to Prosper, developed it based on the current marketing learnership material in order to solve Konica Minolta South Africas identified sales and marketing needs, explains Coetzer.
Also a registered SAQA accredited NQF level 4 programme, the first Sales and Marketing Learnership Programme runs from 01 May 2013 to 30 April 2014. The candidates sourced by Konica Minolta South Africa had to initially undergo stringent assessments to ensure that they are indeed the type of candidates the company requires for this programme, that is that they display diligence, focus, drive and, above all, passion. The company also focused on black female candidates so as to increase its broad-based black economic employment (B-BBEE) score. Ultimately, nine very talented candidates were selected to attend the programme, says Coetzer.
The curriculums theoretical training, which includes various sales e-learning modules, is staggered over the duration of the learnership in order to provide the candidates with as much workplace experience as possible. This also allows the learners to practice their new skills sufficiently. According to Coetzer, the company’s sales managers and current sales consultants at its Pretoria and Johannesburg branches will provide guidance, coaching and mentoring. Omar and Mercuri International trainers will deliver the theoretical training, which is coordinated by Konica Minolta South Africa.
Implementing this learnership programme is a win-win situation for all involved. For Konica Minolta South Africa, we gain the benefit of properly trained and qualified candidates for potential future employment. At the same time, it adds valuable points to the skills element of our B-BBEE certification. For the learners, it adds a quality qualification to their CVs and ultimately impacts both their own lives and the well being of their families, says Coetzer.