At the end of last year Coachlab™ students had the opportunity to present some of the industry projects they had been working on at the graduation ceremony held at The Innovation Hub. That was then! Today, seven of these graduates are preparing to join the workforce as new appointees by Standard Bank (Pty) Ltd. while one of them is already working as a SAP Consultant.
Moses Nzuva formed part of the team that worked on the EPI-USE SAP-HR implementation project last year and subsequently accepted a position as SAP Consultant at EPI-USE (Pty) Ltd. ‘I started in my new position during December already and received some additional training during the holidays in preparation. The transition from being involved in the real-time industry project to becoming an employed member of the EPI-USE team seems like a natural progression thanks to CoachLab™’ says Moses.
CoachLab™ students were involved in company-specific projects as selected by the sponsoring partners of which both Standard Bank and EPI-USE formed a part. This allowed the CoachLab™ participants the opportunity to develop inventive solutions to actual industry problems. Princess Malinga explains ‘I worked on the Home Affairs project that dealt with finding innovative ways of minimising the processing time for the supply of Identification Documents to the South African public’.
Princess is one of the seven CoachLab™ graduates that are currently undergoing a comprehensive induction process at Standard Banks head office in Johannesburg. She is joined by Phumlani Mahlangu, Tshegofatso Lesole, Tebelelo Mogoba, Adel van der Westhuizen, Elon Ramashapa, and Mthunzi Nzima in this month-long process of training that include an introduction to various aspects of employment by Standard Bank.
‘At first I felt a bit apprehensive about starting work this year but because Standard Bank is providing us with all the information one might need when starting out, I find myself growing more and more excited about being part of this team. The information ranges from issues related to medical aid and aspects of personal finance management to the importance of stress management’ says Phumlani and adds that ‘CoachLab™ taught me the value of taking ownership of ones work and exceeding in employer expectations by aiming to always do just that little bit more. I feel well prepared for what lies ahead’.
