Learnerships make good business sense
PMI can accommodate even a small group of learners in KZN.
It’s a sad fact that, in a country where millions of youth are without jobs, many companies struggle to find quality staff. Here at PMI, our research shows that a significant number of those companies are small and medium-sized businesses, responsible for 35-45% of GDP. And yet, they often believe that they don’t have the numbers, revenue or scale for a learnership programme.
The opposite is true.
Let’s tackle the numbers first.
Even though PMI has a national footprint, we are able to accommodate smaller regional or local divisions. For instance, our Musgrave Campus, PMI KZN, offers public learnerships, held at our premises – ideal for enrolling just one or a small number of learners onto any public learnership on offer.
Here and below are full lists of upcoming public learnerships.
Now, to company revenue.
There’s a widespread perception that regularly taking on learners is an unprofitable exercise, where the resources outweigh the ROI. But the fact is that it’s cheaper to train and retain existing staff than it is to hire new people. What’s more, learners work for 33% of the average entry-level salary.
What about tax breaks?
Businesses can claim tax rebates when a learner enters a training programme and when they complete it. If the learnership covers scarce skills, businesses are also able to qualify for a grant from the appropriate SETA.
To illustrate, companies are entitled to up to R50 000 per learner per year in tax breaks; a figure which can cover learnership overheads and sundry costs.
And what about B-BBEE?
Learnerships can significantly boost B-BBEE ratings. If a programme meets certain criteria, it can earn points towards the B-BBEE scorecard. A higher rating means better business opportunities, especially from the public sector.
For instance, companies can earn up to 15% of their B-BBEE score, provided that as little as 5% of its total workforce is composed of learners.
And energy and morale?
Learnerships and internships not only provide an opportunity to identify and develop talent, but also boost a team’s confidence and increase job satisfaction and loyalty. Young people tend to bring optimism to a business – adding diversity, unusual perspectives, contemporary skills, and new values.
Why opt for PMI learnerships?
The Production Management Institute of Southern Africa (PMI-SA) is a leading higher education and human capital development partner.
PMI learnerships have a proven success rate of 70% and and serve as powerful acquisition and retention tools. They’re also dynamic enough to support people initiatives like onboarding, employment equity, skills development, transformation, succession planning, and career pathing.
Vocationally focused, PMI learnerships include a selection of National Certificates, GET certificates, and FET certificates.
The following public learnerships will soon be available in KZN:
- NQF4 FETC: Business Administration Services (Qual / Prog ID 35928 – SAQA 61595)
- NQF3 National Certificate: Business Administration Services (Qual / Prog ID 23655 – SAQA ID 67465)
- NQF2 National Certificate: Business Administration Services (SAQA ID 23833)
- NQF5 National Certificate: Generic Management (SAQA ID 59201)
- NQF4 FETC: Generic Management: General Management (Qual / Prog ID 60269 – SAQA ID 57712)
- NQF3 National Certificate: Management (Qual / Prog ID 23654 – SAQA ID 83946)
- NQF2 National Certificate: Production Technology (SAQA ID 58781)
- NQF4 FETC: Production Technology (SAQA ID 58779)
Beyond being good for business, PMI learnerships are good for people. After completing one of our learnership programmes, our learners are confident, positive, inspired, and motivated to grow. And that’s good for everyone.
Invest in learnerships. Derive a host of real benefits. Contact PMI today.