PostNet starts marketing learnerships

The programme will involve a comprehensive approach in which the learners will receive formal academic training from the Boston City Campus for four months, and spend the remainder of the year in PostNet branches receiving practical experience in marketing. At the end of the year, graduates will receive a diploma from Boston City Campus in association with the requirements of the Services SETA for this specific marketing learnership. The learnership has been accredited by the Services SETA.

PostNet chairman and founder, Ian Lourens, says that the company has been undergoing a rigorous re-evaluation exercise to co-incide with its 10th anniversary, to ensure that it becomes even more profitable in the future.

"This marketing learnership programme is part of the process of ensuring that our future business needs are adequately met. At the end of this process, we will have nearly 200 young people with the skills and training needed to contribute to our network, and it is highly likely that many of them will be absorbed into our PostNet branches on a permanent basis.

"At the same time, we are fulfilling our corporate social responsibility to build the skills capacity of South Africa, particularly in respect of previously disadvantaged individuals," Lourens says.

The learnership is certified on the NQF 5 level, and a process of choosing suitable candidates is at present underway. Once formal training is completed on campus, the learners will move into PostNet stores and be assessed on an ongoing basis by Boston City Campus assessors. Training will be outcomes based.

PostNet Southern Africa is the country's largest privately-owned counter network in the document and parcel market. With its brand promise of "Create, Duplicate, Deliver", PostNet provides a range of services targeted mainly at the SMME market.

The franchise-based business has over 200 outlets in every major city and most large towns throughout South Africa.