Altech unveils employee university

By Leon Engelbrecht, ITWeb senior writer

Johannesburg, 09 Nov 2007

Allied Technologies Limited (Altech) has opened what it calls SA`s "first end-to-end corporate university".

Johan Klein, Altech`s head of HR and the Altech Academy`s director of studies, says the learning institution - situated in Midrand - will open its doors in January.

It will promote life-long learning within the group and offer a variety of certificates and diplomas, as well as masters` degrees and doctorates, said Klein. "The Altech Academy will mark a new era in growth, not only in the life of the company, but also in the lives of our trusted staff," said Klein at a ceremony last night to mark the establishment of the learning institution.

Talent wars

Klein said a global "war for talent" is under way. The ICT industry skills shortage is not just a local phenomenon, but a global business risk, he added. Klein recently attended a skills conference, involving 58 delegates from 46 countries, and all agreed this "war" would last at least the next four years.

He says this means that poaching staff is increasingly not an option. Instead, companies need to look at their employees and further their education.

"We need to make talent identification part of our business strategy." At Altech, this will mean the assessment of all interested staff to determine their talent and potential, and crafting them career paths, he added. "The aim is to ensure there is talent growth at all levels inside the Altech Group."

All courses and degrees offered through the academy will be fully accredited through the Da Vinci Institute for Technology Management, which is a higher education institute focusing on post graduate business management studies.

Future leaders

The "vision of the Altech Academy is to position Altech for greater success through its technology, innovation, and its people," said Altech CEO Craig Venter at the event.

Venter said the academy is the company`s advertisement to employees - present and future - that Altech "believes in its people, and assists them in growing within the group. It will also show that employees are encouraged to broaden their skills base and further their qualifications internally, and without any cost to the individual."

Venter said he decided to launch the employees` university about 18 months ago when Altech found itself in the "undesirable position of facing a serious skills shortage in our industry". He said the group`s director and executive management had noted that the needs of the company could not be met by traditional educational institutions.

In addition, the number of students enrolling in engineering courses had "declined alarmingly" and Altech was loathe to recruit foreigners abroad. "So we decided to establish an internal learning institute," Venter explained. "We cannot afford to wait for staff made of 'the right stuff`... to be the leaders of this company in future."