Current Edition >> Archives Section >> SMME Information >> November 2002
From 15 to 17 October 2002 in Bloemfontein the Technikon Free State's School for Entrepreneurship and Business Development (SEBD) and Central Business Incorporated (CBI), in collaboration with the University of the Free State, presented E-week, with the aim to empower employers, employees and entrepreneurs within the modern-day electronic business environment.
Employers : The first leg focused on the employer, especially in light of the experience of small business in Europe.
Employees : The second leg focused on the employee, with the general theme customer excellence, service and care. Mr. Peter Cheales, well-known motivational speaker, was the facilitator of the session held on 16 October 2002, attended by 160 persons from the entire business spectrum. In his presentation, Mr. Cheales addressed topics like being more visible to your client, being pro-active, to be competitive with yourself, to develop your own worth, to determine customer expectations, to elicit common customer complaints and to turn these around into rave-reviews, and to brand yourself.
Entrepreneurs : The last leg focused on entry-level entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs were required to enter a competition by stating their business ideas and business plans. The entrepreneurs were also addressed on how to finance their own businesses. At the end of the course the business plans were evaluated and three or more entrepreneurs received seed-capital to start-up their businesses.
According to a statement by the provincial director of the GCIS in the Free State, Mr. Trevor Mokeyane, his department, together with the Free State Business Resource Centre, Free State Provincial SMME desk at the Department of Sport, Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, is to establish business shelves in libraries to specifically serve the business community / SMME's.
Mr. Mokeyane says small and micro enterprises are in constant need of information, advice and mentoring for the development of their businesses. Although information is generally available, it is not packaged and shelved in such a way that it would be easily accessible and user-friendly. Since public libraries are spread around the province and are within reach of many people, they can be custodians of SMME information at specific shelves. Many state-owned enterprises, parastatals, private companies and the Dept of Trade and Industry and its provincial counterpart can supply information relevant for SMME's. The exercise/project would not be costly for any single entity or institution as costs, if any, will anyway be part of their information dissemination budget. The project could even possibly attract sponsorship from the private sector.
In the Free State 10 libraries are to be utilized in the pilot project. Tthe first library will be at Villiers where the project is to be launched on 29 November 2002 at 11:00 at the Villiers Public Library.
For more information, Trevor Mokeyane could be contacted at (051) 4484506 or Rumi Lebusho of Free State Business Resource Centre at 083 598 0974.
The Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Seta (Merseta) has launched an exciting initiative to assist business in tackling the literacy and numeracy shortcomings of their workforce.
The Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) project - aimed at both small and large business - offers free training to levy-paying small, micro and macro enterprises (SMME's) falling under the Merseta umbrella, while larger corporations will be incentivised to manage their own training programmes.
Project Literacy, Siyaphambili and Media Works are the training service providers that have been commissioned to market and implement the programme with SMME's in the different provinces.
Learners participating in the project have the choice of studying Communications and/or Mathematics, which makes up one ABET-recognised training level. Alternatively, these subjects may be studied individually.
On receipt of a certificate for the completion of an ABET level, each learner will receive R500 from the ABET provider. A reduced amount of R250 will be paid for the completion of either Communications or Mathematics.
In the pilot phase of the project Merseta and its providers are targeting some 3 000 learners in SMME's. These small enterprises will benefit further due to the fact that the Merseta-approved ABET providers will conduct all learner recruitment and assessment, develop programmes and materials, make arrangements for classes, monitor and evaluate training progress and organize examinations.
Large companies - although expected to make their own arrangements for providing ABET training within the workplace - will still benefit through a system of incentives. Amounts of between R2 500 and R3 000 per learner (depending on whether it is a male or female learner) will be paid to the Merseta-registered levy-paying companies. If the learner is successful in only one learning area, that is Communications or Mathematics, then the company will receive half of either the R2 500 or R3 000.
Merseta's latest training initiative concentrates on SMME's since some 85% of companies in the engineering and manufacturing sectors are classified in this category.
The SETA's initial strategy in this sector saw the organisation taking training to SMME's via the three employer associations: Retail Motor Industry (RMI), the Plastics Federation (Plasfed) and SEIFSA, the steel and engineering employer organisation.
Partnerships were developed with these organisations and two delivery vehicles have been implemented. The first is through training projects, which are funded by the Merseta but implemented through the employer associations. The second saw the employment of 26 Skills Development Facilitators (SDFs) by the associations to provide free advice and assistance to SMME's, particularly in the area of grant claims.
Trade unions form part of a management committee that manages this ongoing project and it is envisaged that some 12 000 workers will be trained under this project over the next year. While acknowledging the needs of SMME's, the Merseta also identified Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) as a priority.
Recent research commissioned by the Merseta, which was conducted by the University of Natal, reflected the fact that while many companies respect the need to provide ABET training, they face obstacles in terms of managing the process, accessing suitable providers and ensuring that learners actually achieve a qualification.
In addition, the research showed that fewer than 7% of companies represented by the Merseta across five chambers, actually provide ABET training. Many of them plan to do so but are uncertain about how to begin and are deterred by the potential cost implications. SMME's in particular, lack the resources to manage such projects effectively.
In response to this expressed need in the industry, the Merseta stakeholders approved the latest ABET training project again highlighting the SETA's focus on ensuring that those people employed in the metal and engineering, auto manufacturing, motor retail and components, new tyre and plastics industries are learning skills that will ultimately provide self upliftment, and benefits for business and the economy as a whole.
Some 23 000 companies are registered with the Merseta and about 500 000 workers are employed across the five industries.
For more information on the SMME project, ABET training or learnerships in the central region of SA, contact the Merseta on (051) 430 1263/1164.
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