The deputy minister of Trade and Industry, Elizabeth Thabethe and the CEO of the Wholesale and Retail Sector Education Training Authority, Joel Dikgole were guests of honour at the graduation ceremony.
Of this national intake, 1234 were previously unemployed. Forty of the learners are deaf and based in 10 Checkers and Checkers Hypers stores in the Gauteng Province.
It is the training vision of the Shoprite Group to take in at least 1000 unemployed learners every year. The group has also committed itself to employing at least 90% of all unemployed learners who successfully complete these programmes.
In its last financial year, the group has devoted a million hours to training and development, with a 95% percent focus on people from previously disadvantaged communities. As one of the largest contributors to the skills levy in the retail sector, the group presents further educational opportunities for both its employed and unemployed learners.
It has over 1000 learning programmes and short courses available and in the last financial year, averaged over 175 000 training interventions, with more than 54 000 people benefitting. These programmes ranged from management development through to basic shop floor skills, as well as training on sophisticated systems and technologies, important for a world-class retailer.
In addition to the management development programme, it also offers workplace experience and employment opportunities to students from HET and FET institutions.
Shoprite HR director, Callie Burger, comments, "The group fully supports the government's efforts to improve the skills base of the country and grow the economy by investing in skills development and thus in the future.
"The value of our people is critical to our business success. Given our rapid expansion into Africa, as a global retail group, we need to have knowledgeable, skilled staff that can compete in any country in which we operate. The learnerships offered is one effective way in which we are nurturing such individuals."
