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Building the Bonds
(CONTINUED)
Southern Sun currently has 14 per cent of the hospitality industry’s payroll and does 25 per cent of the
industry’s training – well above the 15 per cent of the next best competitor. In the past year, the company achieved
over 500 national qualifications for its staff, almost a quarter of all qualifications achieved in the industry. Over the
last three years, the company’s spend on training has ranged between 5.1 per cent and 6.8 per cent of its payroll.
Importantly, in the South African environment, 83 per cent of its training budget was spent on people of colour, and
44 per cent on females. Tsogo Sun has an equally impressive record. In its three operating casinos, an average of
43 per cent of its current employees were previously unemployed or had never worked before. Training was intensive
and constructive, with numerous training sites accommodating up to 600 people at any time. The total training time to
start the commercial operations was over 15,000 working days.
In addition, over the last six years, Southern Sun has made available some US$2.3 million (R14 million) for
housing and family education, extending the reach of the group’s employee benefits.
Project Noah
Project Noah, a trailblazing initiative launched by Beer South Africa and the Food and Allied Workers’ Union in 1997,
continues to play a leading role in developing sustainable
business alternatives for employees, whose jobs have
been modified or who have been retrenched. Examples of
businesses started under the Project Noah banner include
panel beating, fast food take-away, micro loans, crate
washing, printing and transport.
SOUTHERN SUN EMPLOYEES RECEIVED NATIONAL QUALIFICATION
CERTIFICATES IN APRIL 1999 FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN HOSPITALITY
TRAINING PROGRAMMES.
PRESIDENT THABO MBEKI OPENED THE GCUWA TRAINING CENTRE,
ESTABLISHED BY PROJECT NOAH IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL
PROJECT TEAM, THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR AND THE EASTERN CAPE
DEVELOPMENT AGENCY IN THE EASTERN CAPE LAST YEAR.
The Gcuwa Training Centre at Butterworth, Eastern Cape,
was opened in 1998. By March 1999, some 335 people had received hands-on training at this thriving centre. Other
significant initiatives included the launch of the Welkom-based (Free State) beer distributor – Kopanelo Transport
Company – and the inception of the Isando-based (Gauteng) small business “incubator”.
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