Training firms have experienced a spike in demand for the training of interns and sales staff as businesses seek to boost the bottom line and achieve legal compliance with skills levy grants, EE and BBBEE targets in a difficult economic climate. Juliette Fourie, CEO of accredited training provider Metro Minds, says there is great demand for learnerships/internships, compliance and funded-driven training. “This serves the purpose of ticking compliance boxes in skills levy grants, EE and BBBEE targets.”
She says there has been a definite hike in demand for sales staff training, while training in incoterms, customer service and financial and customised training, including culture-driven and managerial programmes, are popular. “We have a lot of demand for courses on supply chain and procurement and the holistic picture of the freight world. Our supply chain management courses cover the seamless distribution of express cargo packages with modules focusing on the value chain, warehousing, inventory systems and procurement.”
Research has shown that for businesses to create great leaders and high-performance teams it is also essential to develop emotional intelligence (EQ) – the ability to know when to turn the heat up and show the light in an empathetic way. It’s a quality in short supply in the industry, she says. “It is a tough and very demanding industry. People are measured for every step they take and everything they do. They are bound by their demanding clients and a lot of money and risk is always on the line.”
Fourie believes organisations are driven by three things – people, processes and profit. If you don’t look after the first one, the last two are pretty useless.
