All About ADvTECH

ALL ABOUT 

ADvTECH

CONTENTS 

About ADvTECH 

- Who we are 

- Our brands 

- Our divisions 

How we create value 

Brand overview – schools 

Brand overview – tertiary 

Brand overview - resourcing 

Board of directors 

Executive committee 

Why is ADvTECH listed on the Stock Exchange? 

Corporate Governance – what does it mean? 

Making ADvTECH a great place to work 

ADvTalent People Solution 

Our group departments and functions 

Finding info 

- The ADvTECH group website 

- ADvTECH IT services & guidelines 

- Your password 

- New systems being implemented 

- An enabling culture 

- Staff social media guidelines 

Focus on Academic Excellence 

Important committees 

- Hesio 

- Employment equity 

- What is the purpose of the Employment 

Equity Act? 

Workmen’s compensation 

Disability in the workplace 

The History of ADvTECH at a glance 

CSI project themes 

Acronyms 

2 

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4 

6 

8 

10 

12 

14 

16 

18 

19 

20 

26 

28 

30 

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35 

36 

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42 

49 

49 

50 

51 

52 

53 

54 

61 

60 

HELLO AND 

WELCOME TO 

ADvTECH 

Joining a new company is both an exciting 

and daunting experience and we aim to 

make your first few months with us as 

easy and as pleasant as possible. 

In addition to this booklet, your main point of 

contact for any further information will be your 

line manager. Do not hesitate to ask as many 

questions as necessary. It is our desire to maintain 

a culture whereby employees should be free and 

encouraged to speak openly to their supervisors, 

or other managers and directors. Therefore, on 

your journey within the group you will note that 

we have an open-door policy, whether it be with 

your line manager, project manager or your CEO. 

We have every confidence that your career with 

us will prove to be a fruitful one and look forward 

to your input into making this company an even 

greater success. 

Kind regards, 

ADvTECH Group Executive Committee

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE 

We aim to BUILD 

and grow a high 

quality organisation 

in education, training 

and placement that 

is widely recognised 

for deep-seated 

commitment and 

success in enriching 

people’s lives and 

future. 

We aim to GROW 

a reputation for our 

ability to make a real 

difference to the 

people we serve; for 

our connectedness 

and partnerships with 

African and global 

markets and players; 

for the relevance, 

quality and usefulness 

of our offerings; and 

for the enterprising 

and agile way in which 

we tackle our tasks. 

We will ACHIEVE 

this by focusing on our 

customers and taking 

a lead from our 

markets; by our 

innovative approach, 

especially in 

harnessing the power 

of technology; and by 

striving for excellence 

and sustainability 

in all we do. 

OUR VALUES 

ETHICS 

Through our own ethical 

conduct, practices and policies 

we seek to set an example 

for our students and clients. 

PEOPLE-CENTEREDNESS 

Sound education and placement 

depends on empowered and 

successful human interaction 

on a personal level. 

HIGH QUALITY 

We aim to create and add quality 

in everything we do. 

SUSTAINABILITY 

By using resources wisely, and 

within the means created by our 

income, we aim to ensure that 

our organisation continues to 

serve future generations. 

CARING AND RESPONSIBLE 

LEADERSHIP 

We take special responsibility 

for the people, especially young 

people, who are students, clients 

and staff, by our example and by 

caring for their safety and needs. 

RESPECT 

Respecting each other as well as 

clients and candidates. 

ADvTECH INDUCTION TOOLKIT | 

1

ABOUT ADvTECH 

WHO WE ARE 

BRANDED HOUSE VS 

HOUSE OF BRANDS 

ADvTECH leads the private sector 

in the fields of education and 

resourcing, contributing 

meaningfully towards the 

sustainable development of 

human capacity in South Africa. 

We are what is considered to be a 

“house of brands”. What this means 

is that each brand under the ADvTECH 

Group umbrella operates independently 

as their own entity in terms of marketing 

and operations, but is fully supported by 

the group in the background. 

This is with the intention that each 

individual brand under ADvTECH can 

focus on what they each do best without 

limiting the broader group’s business 

growth trajectory. 

Within the ADvTECH Group, we operate 

three divisions and each division consists 

of brands which are tailored for a 

specific market. 

2 | ADvTECH INDUCTION TOOLKIT

OUR BRANDS 

SCHOOLS DIVISION 

TERTIARY DIVISION 

RESOURCING DIVISION 


3

OUR DIVISIONS 

The offerings in our schools division differs per brand based on 

price, curriculum, ethos, extra-murals, sport, etc. At our core, 

irrespective of the brand, ADvTECH delivers academic excellence. 

The range of schools in the group and their niche positioning 

enables us to provide quality education to specific markets. 

Within this market we distinguish ourselves through the variety of 

options we provide. E.g. through our brands we cater for different 

curriculums like IEB, Cambridge and National Senior Certificate 

(NSC). We offer pre-primary, primary and college education. Some 

brands have a Christian ethos, some are more traditional and others 

offer a modern and more liberal approach to education. Our brands 

are renowned for their academic excellence, which serves as the 

main differentiator from other competitor schools. 

We continue to make significant investments in the academics of 

the schools division. This includes investments in technology and 

blended learning models. We focus on attracting the best teachers, 

who share a commitment to excellence. Through ongoing training, 

and providing resources for our schools, we are able to offer a high 

quality education to our students. 

As the leader in the premium private schooling sector, we continue 

to develop opportunities for expansion in the premium sector whilst 

also having identified the mid-fee sector and the rest of Africa 

for additional growth. Our pipeline is continuously being developed 

to take advantage of growth opportunities, ranging from greenfield 

projects and acquisitions to new product development. 


“pay as you go” courses. 

Attracting and retaining the best people remains our priority. 

We realise that we would not be able to achieve success without 

the enthusiasm, commitment and hard work of all staff members 

across the division. This is why we continually invest in our people 

and strive to offer optimum working conditions to sustain our 

market leading position in the recruitment industry. 

We have years of experience in successfully providing quality higher 

education in the private sector and continue to meet the evergrowing 

demand for relevance and quality. 

We operate nine distinctive brands, each custom-made for a specific 

target market. The Independent Institute of Education (The IIE) 

education brands (Varsity College, Rosebank College, Vega and The 

Business School at Varsity College) offer a portfolio of tertiary 

products that reflect the changing needs of an evolving workplace 

within a rapidly changing society by offering dynamic, relevant 

curricula on well-resourced campuses, with a focus on student 

learning. While the ultimate goal is to achieve a qualification, the IIE 

is also committed to the development of the student as an 

individual and as such, the small classes, student support and the 

focus on a range of skills result in solid pass rates and the 

development of citizens rather than just graduates. 

With the clear understanding of the link between tertiary studies 

and the world of work, our programmes are designed to incorporate 

an element of actual or simulated workplace experience or other 

forms of practical application. In this way, we ensure that students 

are equipped to successfully make the transition from student to 

employee or even employer. 

Capsicum Culinary Studio together and The Private Hotel School 

are spearheading our development in the hotel and hospitality 

education industries. A leading culinary schools and high quality 

hospitality education providers, both Capsicum and The Private 

Hotel School offer qualifications and courses registered with 

the South African qualifications framework and internationally 

accredited by City & Guilds, the UK’s leading vocational education 

and training organisation. 

Through distance learning, Oxbridge Academy offers students 

opportunities to gain job-relevant skills and provides academic and 

student support from industry experts and tutors. 

The acquisition of University of Africa (UoA) signifies the tertiary 

division’s first step further into Africa beyond our borders. UoA has 

developed a business model to make tertiary education accessible 

to many communities by offering “register as you go” and 

The resourcing division brands all have distinct personalities, but all 

have one thing in common: a commitment to providing the highest 

levels of service to their candidates and clients. Having numerous 

brands in one division creates a healthy level of competition, while 

at the same time ensures all can benefit from shared expertise and 

well-documented best-practice principles. 

Resourcing services include an in-depth analysis of specific needs, 

personalised advice on market trends and available opportunities 

in a given market sector. Clients deal with a single recruiter who 

takes care of their specialist needs. 

The transformation of our workforce demographics to better 

represent the communities in which we operate remains an 

ongoing focus for the division. A proprietary learnership programme, 

arranged through the Federation of African Professional Staffing 

Organisations (APSO), is in place to enable the development of 

critical scarce skills in the South African employment sector. It equips 

talented individuals with the skills they need to find employment. 


5

OUR BUSINESS MODEL 

OUR CAPITALS 

HOW WE 

CREATE 

VALUE 

KEY STAKEHOLDERS 

KEY INPUTS DURING 2018 

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE, INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL 

AND GOVERNANCE 

Academic development and investment in effective methodologies, 

curricula, programmes and qualifications that are relevant, accredited, 

well-recognised and respected locally and internationally are key to 

our business. 

We enhance operational effectiveness by building and employing 

intellectual capital and through innovation, product and market 

developments and reassessing business processes and shared services 

supported by technological development. Another key differentiation 

is the 26 brands in the group, which remain strong and continue to 

attract students and clients based on their specific well-defined value 

propositions and offerings. 

Regulatory 

bodies, 

students, 

clients and 

candidates 

• Our education brands 

• Sound compliance and governance 

systems and academic integrity 

• Central academic team who creates 

and develops material and manages 

the accreditation process 

• The IIE, SA’s largest “private university” 

• Highly qualified workforce 

• Continuous drive to improve IT systems 

to support the business 

PEOPLE, CULTURE AND HUMAN CAPITAL 

Many of our staff are professionally qualified and contribute a wealth 

of intellectual capital to our academic integrity. Our employees are 

ambassadors and are vital in growing and running our business. We 

invest in our employees to ensure we attract and retain high-calibre 

staff. Our employees, in turn, are passionate and committed to quality 

and excellence, which assists in creating and maintaining confidence 

in our value proposition. 

Employees and 

independent 

contractors 

• 7 549 employees 

• Professional, passionate employees 

• Talent management and succession 

planning programme 

• R17 million invested in employee 

training and development 

SOCIAL AND RELATIONSHIP CAPITAL 

Quality relationships with key stakeholders 

With our constant efforts to improve customer service, the business 

actively manages its stakeholder relationships with our students, 

parents, communities, clients, our business partners, government, 

regulators and investors. We also instil a culture of respect and by 

giving back to the communities through our outreach projects within 

the areas in which we operate, we aim to instil corporate citizenship 

and a sense of community. 

Students, 

parents, 

alumni, clients, 

government 

and regulatory 

bodies, 

investors, 

shareholders 

and media 

• 63 544 students 

• Tertiary campuses’ student bodies 

• Academic training and information 

sessions with teachers, lecturers, 

students and parents 

• Regular and proactive engagement 

with regulatory bodies 

• Community projects and engagements 

MANUFACTURED/INFRASTRUCTURE CAPITAL 

Environment conducive to learning 

Creating environments conducive to learning, enabling our students 

to meet their full potential academically and become well-rounded 

individuals. We invest significant financial capital in our campuses, 

furniture and fittings, technology equipment and facilities to expand 

our brands to deliver on our brand specific value offerings. 

FINANCIAL CAPITAL 

We use cash generated by our business activities and investments 

as well as funding, both debt and equity, to finance business growth 

organically and through strategic investments to support the group’s 

short-, medium- and long-term sustainability and growth plans. We 

provide our shareholders with a return on their investments through 

regular dividend payments. 

NATURAL CAPITAL 

We rely on natural resources such as land, energy and water to run our 

operations and are mindful of the fact that we need to preserve these 

precious resources by mitigating potential negative environmental 

impacts through responsible usage. Additionally, we educate our 

students and instil a deep respect for the environment. 

Students, 

teachers, 

lecturers, 

municipalities, 

government 

and regulatory 

bodies 

Investors, 

shareholders 

and employees 

Communities 

and 

environment 

• 132 education sites 

• Digitally enabled campuses 

• Dedicated properties team 

• Educational facilities design specialist 

• R946 million internally generated cash 

flows 

• R582 million increase in debt 

• R115 million invested in acquisitions 

• R556 million of capex 

• Energy efficiencies and water saving 

projects 

• Various recycling projects 

• Community upliftment projects 

• Business and CSI through Izzi Trust and 

Ulwasi Educational Trust 

• Environmental education forms an 

integral part of the curriculum 

6 | ADvTECH INDUCTION TOOLKIT 

Read more about 

our key stakeholder relationships

OUTPUTS AND BUSINESS ACTIVITIES 

KEY INPUTS DURING 2018 

ROBUST CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND RISK MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORKS 

SCHOOLS 

DIVISION 

SUPPORT SERVICES • Central Academic Team • Finance 

• Communications• Internal Audit • HR • IT• Legal • 

Properties and facilities management • Shared services 

Competitive 

return on 

investment 

Innovation and 

research 

TERTIARY 

DIVISION 

Investment 

Sustained income 

and market 

leadership 

RESOURCING 

DIVISION 

Strong 

demand 

Active 

stakeholder 

engagement 

ACADEMIC 

EXCELLENCE 

EXCELLENCE 

THROUGH 

SPECIALISATION 

GROWTH 

INNOVATION 

HUMAN 

CAPITAL 

PRODUCTIVITY 

CAPITAL 

PRODUCTIVITY 

CUSTOMER 

FOCUS 

AFRICA 

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES 

• Reputation for academic excellence 

• Excellent matric results with a 99% pass rate 

• Excellent local and international assessment 

results 

• International recognition by US Ivy League 

schools 

• 5 811 IIE graduates in 2018 

• Accredited and endorsed by reputable local 

and international bodies 

• Affiliated with organisations ensuring 

relevance and compliance with top industry 

practices 

• Member of the Independent Schools 

Association of Southern Africa (ISASA) 

• 459 long service awards 

• 166 employees attending management 

development training programmes 

• R1 970 million in salaries and benefits paid 

to employees 

• New 24 hour online customer service 

platform successfully resolved queries 

• Invested in student information system 

services in both schools and tertiary divisions 

• 6% increase in student numbers in 2018 

• 4 608 job candidates placed during 2018 

• Increase in number of educational sites 

• Makini acquisition concluded in 2018 

• Achieved strong organic growth in tertiary 

and resourcing divisions 

• Improved pipeline for greenfield 

developments 

• Capacity growth of 4% through our facilities 

developed 

• Developed a footprint in East Africa 

• Enhanced our unique academic offering 

at schools 

• IIE 101 DHET accredited and registered 

qualifications offered 

• Total of 201 accredited tertiary division 

courses 

Impacting 

the economy and 

society 

Supporting South Africa’s transformation goals 

Uplifting and developing society in line 

with the UN SDGs 

Creating employment 

Read more about 

sustainability 

• Revenue up 11% to R4.4 billion 

• Operating profit up 14% to R763 million 

• NEPS up 8% 

• Free cash flow per share 105.3 cents 

• Dividends per share 30.0 cents 

• 605 CSI projects undertaken 

• Bursaries awarded to the value 

of R174 million 

• Environmentally friendly campuses: 

gas geysers, rainwater capture tanks, 

recycling and using video conferencing 

to reduce travel costs 

• Teacher training bursary graduates placed 

within ADvTECH schools 

• Three schools were internationally certified 

as eco-schools 

• Resourcing division achieved B-BBEE Level 

eight compliance on the new codes. 

Subsequent to year-end a level four rating 

was achieved 


7

BRAND OVERVIEW 

SCHOOLS 

BRAND 

DESCRIPTION 

NO OF 

SCHOOLS* 

EST LOCATION CURRICULUM 

CrawfordSchools 

is a trailblazer in innovative and forward-thinking education, 

offering well-rounded contemporary education from Grade 0000 

to 12 in pre-primary, preparatory and college. Every student is 

acknowledged and offered the opportunity to excel. The 

child-centred approach inherent in every school prompts 

students to examine and realise their own potential, ensuring 

every child is a masterpiece. 

www.crawfordschools.co.za 

www.crawfordinternationalschool.com 

Trinityhouse 

is founded on Christian principles and traditional values and 

comprises pre-primary, preparatory and high school. Its students 

are offered a healthy balance of academic, sports and cultural 

activities within a structured, secure and disciplined environment 

from Grade 0000 to Grade 12. 

23 1993 Gauteng , 

KwaZulu- 

Natal 

and Kenya 

20 1997 Gauteng, 

KwaZulu- 

Natal and 

Western Cape 

Independent Schools 

Association of Southern 

Africa Early Childhood 

Development Curriculum 

(ISASA ECDC) 

International 

Baccalaureate Primary 

Years Programme (IB) 

(PYP) 

South African Curriculum 

Assessment Policy 

Statements (CAPS) 

Independent 

Examinations Board 

Subject Assessment 

Guidelines (IEB SAGS) 

Kenya: Cambridge 

International 

ISASA ECDC 

CAPS 

IEB SAGS 

www.elkanahhouse.co.za 

www.glenwoodhouse.co.za 

www.trinityhouse.co.za 

Centurus Colleges 

are a family of independent, co-educational schools providing 

superior education services for children of varied abilities, 

embracing diversity and change in pursuit of academic, sporting 

and cultural excellence. The schools provide a dynamic and 

progressive education for the individual needs of the students 

from Grade 0000 to 12 in pre-preparatory, preparatory and 

college, and also offers boarding. 

9 2005 Gauteng and 

North West 

ISASA ECDC 

CAPS 

IEB SAGS 

www.centuruscolleges.co.za 

Maragon Schools 

combines excellence with a Christ-centred education while 

maintaining a healthy balance across all disciplines. The schools 

maintain high academic, cultural and sporting standards in 

pre-primary, primary and college from Grade 0000 to Grade 12. 

9 1999 Gauteng ISASA ECDC 

CAPS 

IEB SAGS 

www.maragon.co.za 

Junior Colleges 

is a brand of nursery schools that provide superior quality 

education and care to children aged from six weeks to six years 

and up to Grade 1 at one site. A formal curriculum creates 

meaningful and happy early learning experiences in a safe 

environment and prepares students exceptionally well for their 

entry into formal education. 

7 1979 Gauteng Structured Early Years 

Foundation Stage (EYFS) 

ISASA ECDC 

www.juniorcolleges.co.za 


SCHOOLS 

BRAND 

DESCRIPTION 

NO OF 

SCHOOLS* 

EST LOCATION CURRICULUM 

Abbotts College 

recognises the individual needs of its students and helps them to 

develop their full academic potential in an inclusive, caring and 

focused environment. Catering for Grade 8 to Grade 12 students, 

the college helps high school students achieve their best 

possible results by combining methods of expert teaching, pure 

academic focus and unique processes. 

www.abbotts.co.za 

6 1971 

Gauteng and 

Western Cape 

CAPS 

Pinnacle College Founders Hill provides a sound 

academic footing while preparing pupils for life beyond matric. 

This is achieved through a focus on the delivery of a purposeful 

academic programme and a strong extramural offering from 

Grade 0 to 9. 

3 2016 

Gauteng ISASA ECDC 

CAPS 

www.foundershillcollege.co.za 

The Bridge Assisted Learning School provides 

specialised education for Grade 0 to Grade 7 students that 

require learning intervention. Through small classes and 

individual attention, the school is able to instil not only the skills, 

but also the self-esteem that will allow students to take on 

their learning journey with confidence. 

2 2018 

Gauteng ISASA ECDC 

CAPS 

www.thebridgeschool.co.za 

Gaborone International School provides an excellent 

English medium education with attention given to learners’ 

academic, physical and moral needs. The school offers affordable 

private education from crèche and reception to standard 1 to 7, 

and secondary education from form 1 to 4. 

www.gaboroneinternationalschool.co.bw 

Makini Schools 

is renowned for its unparalleled academic excellence and has 

seven schools on three campuses in Nairobi and Kisumu catering 

for Kindergarten to Grade 12. 

3 1991 

Botswana ISASA ECDC 

Botswana National 

Syllabus (PSLE) 

Cambridge International 

General Certificate of 

Secondary Education 

(IGCSE) 

7 1978 

Kenya Kenyan National Syllabus 

www.makinischool.ac.ke 

Please refer to our website www.advtech.co.za for an interactive map of our site locations. 


9


TERTIARY 

BRAND 

DESCRIPTION 

NO OF 

CAMPUSES* 

EST 

LOCATION 

ACCREDITATION 

AND ENDORSEMENTS 

The Independent Institute of Education (IIE) 

is responsible for the academic leadership and 

governance in the group. As a national provider, 

the IIE oversees a total of 21 DHET registered** 

sites in the group. 

www.iie.ac.za 

Rosebank College 

offers an affordable and unique urban higher education 

experience with campuses located in the heart of city 

centres. A focus on courses that are fully integrated 

with work experience ensures graduates are ready to 

step into the work environment. 

www.rosebankcollege.co.za 

Varsity College 

is a premium education brand based on a uniquely 

progressive approach to teaching, learning and 

development. This student-centric approach focuses on 

academic excellence, pioneering teaching practices, 

all-encompassing student support and authentic 

student life experiences. 

21 2005 Gauteng The Department of Higher 

Education and Training (DHET) 


Free State, 

KwaZulu-Natal 

and Limpopo 


Eastern Cape, 

KwaZulu-Natal 

and Western 

Cape 

British Accreditation Council 

(BAC) 

Open University (OU) 

Higher Education Quality 

Committee (HEQC) 

South African Institute of 

Chartered Accountants (SAICA) 

The Design Education Forum 

of Southern Africa (DEFSA) 

Autodesk, Inc. 

Project Management 

South Africa (PMSA) 

Microsoft IT Academy 

The Marketing Association of 

South Africa (MA(SA)) 

The Digital Marketing Institute 

www.varsitycollege.co.za 

Vega 

produces graduates who are able to design and create 

original strategic solutions to brand challenges in 

business and society. 

The Design School of Southern Africa has 

been incorporated into the Vega offerings. 


KwaZulu-Natal 

and Western 

Cape 

www.vegaschool.com 

The Private Hotel School 

is a leading hotel, hospitality and culinary school 

based in Stellenbosch and Johannesburg. Their 

dynamic team guides students and creates a strong 

foundation for a successful career in the hospitality 

and tourism industries. The curriculum is taught 

through innovative academic methods and provides 

practical training and opportunities with respected 

industry partners. 

www.privatehotelschool.co.za 


Western Cape 

DHET, The Quality Council 

for Trades & Occupations 

(QCTO), City & Guilds (UK), 

The South African Chefs 

Association (SACA), and 

American Hospitality 

Academy International Hotel 

Management Schools (AHA- 

IHMS) 

Federated Hospitality 

Association of Southern Africa 

(FEDHASA) 

Association of Private Providers 

of Education Training 

and Development (APPETD) 

Stellenbosch Tourism 

Serves on the Management 

board of EUROCHRIE, the 

official federation of Europe 

and Africa of the International 

Council for Tourism and 

Hospitality Educators 


TERTIARY 

BRAND 

DESCRIPTION 

NO OF 

CAMPUSES* 

EST 

LOCATION 

ACCREDITATION 

AND ENDORSEMENTS 

Capsicum Culinary Studio 

is South Africa’s largest chef school. The professional 

courses offered are internationally accredited and allow 

graduates entry into the global marketplace. 

Capsicum’s purpose is to support students in 

developing the key skills, qualities and attitudes 

required for a successful career in the culinary arts 

industry. 


Eastern Cape, 

KwaZulu- Natal 

and Western 

Cape 

Culture, Arts, Tourism and 

Sport SETA (CATHSSETA) 

Business Hotel Management 

School (BHMS) Switzerland 

The Quality Council for Trades 

and Occupations (QCTO) 

Institute of Certified 

Bookkeepers (ICB) 

The City & Guilds Institute (UK) 

Swiss Education Group (SEG) 

World Association of Chefs’ 

Societies (WACS) 

www.capsicumcooking.com 

SACA 

Oxbridge Academy 

provides the opportunity for students to study a wide 

range of nationally and internationally recognised 

courses and qualifications from home. The distance 

learning model enables students to work and gain 

practical experience while they gain relevant theoretical 

knowledge through their studies. 

www.oxbridgeacademy.co.za 

1 1997 Western Cape DHET, QCTO, UMALUSI, select 

courses endorsed by IIE 

Institute of Certified 

Bookkeepers (ICB) 

Education, Training and 

Development Practices 

Sector Education and Training 

Authority (ETDP SETA) 

Association of Private Providers 

of Education and Training 

Development (APPETD) 


Occupational Health and 

Safety (Saiosh) 

The University of Africa 

is a private open distance learning tertiary institution 

with an expanding portfolio of faculties and 

programmes ranging from diplomas to PhDs. As a 

pan-African university, its mission is to respond to the 

actual and realistic needs of students who want to 

empower themselves, their families and their 

communities. 

1 2007 Zambia The Zambian Ministry of 

Education, Science, Vocational 

training and Early Education 

www.universityofafrica.net 



11


RESOURCING 

BRAND 

DESCRIPTION 

NO OF 

SITES 

EST LOCATION ASSOCIATIONS 

Network Recruitment comprises three specialist areas: Network 

engineering, Network finance and Network IT recruitment and has 

over 30 years’ experience in offering optimum permanent staffing 

solutions to clients and candidates in these industry sectors. 

www.networkrecruitment.co.za 

Communicate Recruitment is a specialist recruitment company 

with more than three decades of experience, connecting great 

people in the engineering, finance, IT and supply chain/freight 

industries throughout Africa. We partner with our clients and 

candidates and introduce them to exceptional people and 

opportunities on a permanent, contract or temporary basis. 

www.communicate.co.za 

Cassel & Company has a track record of service excellence that 

spans 29 years and offers premier permanent, temporary and 

contract staffing solutions in accounting and finance. 

www.cassel.co.za 

CA Financial Appointments has earned a reputation as 

the preferred recruiter in the accounting field. Striving to deliver 

on quality, the brand delivers within client expectations with each 

unique placement. 

www.ca.co.za 

Tech-Pro Personnel is the unrivaled leader in supply 

chain management recruitment and is actively involved in the 

development of this profession in South Africa. The brand offers 

permanent staffing solutions in logistics, planning, procurement 

and technology. 

3 1987 Gauteng Association of Chartered 

Certified Accountants 

(ACCA) 


KwaZulu- 

Natal and 

Western Cape 

1 1989 Gauteng 

1 1997 Western Cape 


The Federation of African 

Professional Staffing 

Organisations (APSO) 

The Confederation of 

Associations in the 

Private Employment 

Sector (CAPES) 

The Chartered Institute 

of Management 

Accountants (CIMA) 

College of Chartered 

Accountants 

Information Technology 

Association (ITA) 


Professional Accountants 

(SAIPA) 

The Association for 

Operations Management 

of Southern Africa 

(SAPICS) 

SmartProcurement 

www.tech-pro.co.za 

Insource.ICT specialises in permanent and contract information 

communication technology (ICT) staffing solutions, placing 

candidates at all levels within organisations nationwide. 


www.insource.co.za 

The Working Earth is South Africa’s only recruitment advertising 

specialist that links advertising to electronic response handling 

using the power of the internet. The brand offers the following 

recruitment methodologies: advertising response handling, 

electronic recruitment, in-company recruitment and recruitment 

advertising. 


www.theworkingearth.co.za 

Africa HR Solutions offers payroll and compliance solutions 

across the African continent. Africa HR solutions is based in 

Mauritius, with a network that has been expanded through years 

of hard work to cover various African countries. 

Africa HR solutions offers local and expat outsourcing solutions. 

3 2015 Mauritius Professional Employer 

Organisation (PEO) 

www.africa-hr.com 

CA Global (Pty) Ltd is the holding company of CA Mining, 

CA Engineering, CA Oil & Gas and CA Finance & Banking. 

The team and directors have extensive recruitment knowledge on 

the African continent, providing clients with the talent required for 

their business success. 

2 2007 Western Cape 

www.caglobalint.com 



ADvTECH INDUCTION TOOLKIT | 13

BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

CHRISTOPHER BOULLE – 47 

Chairman, Independent non-executive director 

Chairperson of the Investment and Nominations committees, member of the 

Audit, Remuneration and Risk committees 

BCom, LLB, LLM 

Chris is a commercial, corporate finance, tax and trust attorney. His 

experience as a non-executive director of listed companies spans more 

than a decade. He currently serves as a director of companies listed 

on the JSE and is also trustee of various trusts, including the ADvTECH 

Limited Share Incentive Trust. He was appointed as a director in March 

2013. In 2015, he was appointed chairman of the board. 

ROY DOUGLAS – 61 

Executive director, chief executive officer 

Member of the Investment and Risk committees 

BSocSci (Economics) (UKZN), MBA (UCT) 

Roy brings 25 years of local and international senior management 

experience to the group. Holding a bachelor’s degree in economics, and 

an MBA, Roy has held senior executive roles in various industries that have 

honed his skills in strategy, marketing, business development and general 

management. His track record includes leadership positions in Nampak 

Limited, Deloitte (Atlanta, USA), House of Fraser Limited (UK) and Unilever 

SA. He joined ADvTECH in December 2012 as chief operating officer of 

the tertiary division and led the successful turnaround of the division. He 

joined the board as an executive director and took over the reins as chief 

executive officer in November 2015. 

JACQUELINE CHIMHANZI – 45 (Doctor) 

Independent non-executive director 

Member of the Audit, Nominations and Risk committees 

BSC Hons, MBA, PhD (Strategic Marketing) (Cardiff) 

Jacqueline is the CEO of Africa Leadership Institute. 

She is a seasoned strategist with some 15 years’ 

experience as both an academic and a practitioner. 

She is also a keen Africa-watcher and was recognised 

by Forbes Africa magazine as one of the 20 Youngest 

Power Women in Africa in 2012 – women under 

45 shaping the narrative of Africa’s rising. She is a 

fellow of the Pan African Archbishop Tutu Leadership 

Programme run by the African Leadership Institute 

(AFLI) at Oxford University and a member of the 

Institute of Directors in Southern Africa (IoDSA). She 

previously led strategy consulting teams and was also 

Lead: Africa Desk at Deloittes and senior strategist at 

the IDC. Jacqueline lectured at the University of Wales 

(UK) and joined the board in January 2017. 

BRENDA GOURLEY – 75 (Professor) 


Chair of the Risk Committee, deputy chair of the 

Transformation, Social and Ethics Committee, 

member of the Audit, Investment, and Nominations 

committees 

CTA (Wits), MBL (UNISA), FCGI, FRSA 

Brenda is an accountant by profession and has a long 

career in business and academia. She was previously 

vice chancellor of the University of KwaZulu-Natal 

and vice chancellor and chief executive officer of The 

Open University (UK). Over the years, she has held 

a range of positions on various boards and trusts 

in different parts of the world, in both the public 

and private sectors. She has received recognition in 

the form of prizes, fellowships and awards as well 

as honorary degrees from 14 universities on four 

continents. Most recently, she received the 2014 

UNISA Chancellor’s Calabash Award as an Outstanding 

Educator in recognition of her contribution to higher 

education, especially in open and distance learning. 

Professor Gourley joined the board in 2008. 

JANE HOFMEYR – 69 (Doctor) 


Member of the Nominations, Risk and Transformation, 

Social and Ethics committees 

PhD (Education, Teaching, Public Policy) (WITS) 

Jane holds a PhD in education policy studies 

and is currently an independent education and 

development consultant. She has 30 years of 

experience and research in public and private 

education. She launched and managed the Education 

Policy Unit of the National Business Initiative, 

followed by 15 years heading the Independent 

Schools Association of Southern Africa (ISASA), 

where she played a pivotal role in the development 

of the association. She marketed ISASA vigorously 

and established its brand while increasing ISASA’s 

human and physical resources. This reinforced ISASA’s 

attractiveness to schools as a service provider, and 

established its reputation as an association of first 

choice. Jane joined the board in January 2017. 

For detailed profiles of the board, visit www.advtech.co.za 


JONATHAN JANSEN – 62 (Professor) 


Chair of the Transformation, Social and Ethics Committee 

and member of the Nominations Committee 

PhD (Stanford), MSc (Cornell), BEd, HEd (UNISA), 

BSc (UWC) 

Jonathan is Distinguished Professor of Education 

at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. 

In 2016/17 he was a Fellow at the Center for 

Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at 

Stanford University. He is currently President of the 

South African Institute of Race Relations and President 

of the South African Academy of Science. 

He started his career as a biology teacher in the Cape 

after receiving his science degree from the University 

of the Western Cape. He obtained a MS degree from 

Cornell University and a PhD from Stanford. He holds 

honorary degrees from the University of Edinburgh, 

the University of Vermont and Cleveland State 

University. 

In 2013, he was awarded the Education Africa Lifetime 

Achiever Award in New York, the Spendlove Prize from 

the University of California for his contributions to 

tolerance, democracy and human rights, and he also 

won the largest book award from the British Academy 

for the Social Sciences and Humanities for his book, 

Knowledge in the Blood (published by Stanford 

University Press). 

His recent books include Leading for Change: Race, 

intimacy and leadership on divided university 

campuses (Routledge, 2016), As by fire: the end of the 

South African university (Tafelberg, 2017), Interracial 

intimacies on campuses (Bookstorm, 2017) and Song 

for Sarah (Bookstorm, 2017). His 2018 books include 

South African Schooling: The Enigma of Inequality 

(with Nic Spaull, published by Springer), The Politics 

of Curriculum (Wits University Press) and Who gets in 

and why? The politics of admissions in South Africa’s 

elite schools (UCT Press). Jonathan joined the board 

in 2004. 

KEITH WARBURTON – 60 


Chair of the Audit Committee, member of the 

Investment, Nominations, Risk and Remuneration 

committees 

BCom, CTA, CA(SA) 

Keith is a CA who has obtained some 30 years’ 

experience in commerce and management since 

qualifying as a chartered accountant at 

Arthur Andersen. His broad experience includes the 

banking, steel and manufacturing industries. Since 

1990, he has been in the retail industry, with his latest 

term being as chief operating officer of Clicks Group 

Ltd. Keith has been involved in a number of large 

enterprises, with experience in a number of JSE-listed 

entities. He joined the board in July 2015. 

STAFFORD MASIE – 44 


Member of the Nominations and Risk committees 

Stafford commenced his education in South Africa 

before undertaking studies in computer science at 

Tel Aviv University, Israel. He has been involved in the 

IT industry for nearly 20 years, and was associated 

with pre-eminent IT companies such as Dimension 

Data, Novell and Google. His passion for technology 

led to him holding senior executive positions at 

Novell USA and subsequently at Novell South Africa, 

and being responsible for establishing Google’s 

presence in South Africa. After leaving Google in 

2009, he established his own business and is now 

an entrepreneur with a particular interest in early 

stage start-up businesses in the IT industry. He is 

active as a business school lecturer, participant in 

several radio broadcasts and speaker on the influence 

of technology on modern day life, society and 

education. Stafford joined the board in January 2014. 

JENS ZIMMERMANN – 57 


BA (Business), MBA (Harvard) 

Jens is chairman of the board of London-listed High 

Growth Capital, which invests in new technologies. 

He has more than two decades of private equity 

experience, along with a track record of building 

successful businesses internationally. This includes 

a period as partner and managing director at New 

Silk Route Growth Capital, a USD1.3 billion fund with 

investments across the Middle East and Asia. 

After working for Booz, Allen & Hamilton’s acquisition 

services team in the early nineties he joined a pioneer 

buyout group in Germany, before co-founding HGU 

Hamburg Private Equity AG in 1998. Since 2004, Jens 

has worked in Private Equity in South Asia and the 

Middle East. He has led more than 40 Private Equity 

investments, served on over 20 boards and founded 

several companies in the US, Europe and Asia. With a 

passion for education he has invested in and served 

on the boards of several globally leading education 

groups, specifically in the K-12 and tertiary sectors. 

Jens joined the board in April 2018. 

DIDIER OESCH – 53 

Executive director, group financial director 

Member of the Investment and Risk committees 

BCompt (Hons), CA(SA) 

Didier qualified as a chartered accountant in 1991 

after completing his articles at Betty & Dickson. He 

gained considerable experience with the Nampak 

group in various financial positions, culminating in 

a four-year term in Europe as financial director of 

Nampak Plastics Europe. Didier joined ADvTECH 

as group financial manager. He was appointed 

a member of Exco and group financial director 

in 2005. 

SHIRLEY ZINN – 57 (Professor) 


Chair of the Remuneration Committee, member 

of the Investment, Nominations and Transformation, 

Social and Ethics committees 

BA, HDipEd (UWC), BEd (Hons) (Unisa), MEd (UWC), 

EdM and EdD (Harvard) 

Shirley is the former group head of Human Resources 

at Woolworths Holdings Limited. Prior to this, she 

headed up Human Resources of Standard Bank 

South Africa and was deputy global head of Human 

Resources for the Standard Bank Group. 

Currently, she is an Independent non-executive 

director on the boards of JSE-listed Sanlam Limited 

and Sanlam Life Insurance Limited, MTN-SA, Shoprite 

Holdings, Afrocentric and was recently appointed to 

the boards of LRMG Performance Architects, Cricket 

South Africa and NPI. 

Shirley has held several leadership roles in HR 

management within the public (SARS) and private 

sectors (more specifically, the banking industry). 

Through Shirley Zinn Consulting, she consults 

to various large organisations in HR strategy, 

transformation, leadership and education. She is 

a director and trustee of a number of companies 

and trusts, including the Boston Consulting Group, 

Nedbank Eyethu Community Trust, Tuesday 

Consulting and former chair of the Starfish Greatheart 

Foundation. She is also an extraordinary professor 

at the University of Pretoria and more recently was 

appointed adjunct professor at the University of Cape 

Town where she also serves on the Council of the 

university. 

She is the past president of the Institute for People 

Management South Africa and registered as Master 

HR Professional with the South Africa Board for People 

Practice. 

In 2015, Shirley published an inspirational book about 

her own personal and professional life. She joined the 

board in October 2012. 


15

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 

MIKE AITKEN 

Chief executive officer, Schools division 

Previously chief financial officer of the schools 

division, Mike joined ADvTECH in March 2016 and was 

promoted to divisional CEO in May 2017. With a strong 

financial background, he has held roles as division 

financial director at Nampak as well as various other 

senior financial, trustee and management committee 

roles. His strengths lie in strategy formulation and 

implementation with a broad range of experience in 

finance and general management, including dynamic 

change leadership. Mike holds a BCom (Rhodes 

University), CTA and BCompt Honours (UNISA) and 

attained a CA(SA) from the South African Institute of 

Chartered Accountants. 

FELICITY COUGHLAN (Doctor) 

Group academic director 

Felicity was appointed director of The Independent 

Institute of Education (IIE) in 2005 and promoted 

to ADvTECH’s group academic director in 2016. 

Preceding ADvTECH, Felicity joined Rhodes University 

in 1991 as head of department and then associate 

dean in 2001. She was appointed deputy registrar 

at Wits University in 2001 and director of strategic 

planning in 2003. Felicity obtained an honours degree 

in social work and psychology (Rhodes University), 

a master’s in sociology (University of London) and 

a doctorate in social work (UNISA). 

SIZA MAJOLA (Doctor) 

Group HR executive 

Siza Majola joined ADvTECH as group HR executive 

on 1 August 2017. Siza’s executive experience spans 

various sectors, including mining and investments. 

She previously held the role of group communications 

and corporate affairs executive within the group 

before joining Royal Bafokeng Holdings as group 

stakeholder executive. Her key strengths lie in change 

management, working with people, implementing 

new systems, as well as strategy formulation. She 

holds an MBA (Sheffield Business School, UK), a 

BSc Hons (Stellenbosch University), a BSc in geology 

and GIS (Fort Hare) and a certificate in building 

on talent (International Institute of Management 

Development, Switzerland). She recently completed 

her PhD with the University of KwaZulu-Natal. 

JACO LOTZ 

International business development executive 

Jaco joined ADvTECH as chief financial officer of the 

schools division in 2007. In 2010, he was appointed 

MD of CrawfordSchools TM , and in 2015 also of Abbotts 

College. In 2016, he was appointed international 

business development executive for the group. 

Before joining ADvTECH, Jaco held the position of 

group financial manager at Magna FS from 2003 to 

2007. He attained a CA(SA), BCompt Honours & CTA 

(UNISA), BCom Accounting, BA Honours in Psychology, 

and a BA in Theology (University of Pretoria). 


LENN HONEY 

Chief executive officer, Resourcing division 

Lenn’s first encounter with ADvTECH was during 

the sale of Rosebank College in 1996. After selling 

Rosebank College to ADvTECH, he managed several 

tertiary businesses within the group. Lenn was 

appointed head of the resourcing division in 2003, 

then in 2012 he was promoted to CEO of the division. 

Lenn began his career in the motor vehicle industry, 

later moving to Hunt Lascaris and then Western 

Platinum Mine as a productivity improvement 

management consultant, prior to buying Rosebank 

College. He holds a BCom Honours in Business 

Administration (Rhodes University) and an MBA in 

Marketing (University of Hull). 

VONGANI MBHOKOTA 

Properties executive 

Vongani Mbhokota joined the group in November 2016 

as the properties executive. He has extensive experience 

with acquisitions, property development and the 

ongoing management of both owned and leased 

properties in the commercial, retail and hotel property 

sectors. Vongani has held senior roles within Atterbury 

Property Development, Liberty Properties, Investec 

and Group 5 Building. Vongani holds a degree in 

quantity surveying and an MBA in Project Finance 

(UNISA). He has professional registration in quantity 

surveying and professional construction project 

management (PrCPM). 

STEVEN VAN ZYL 

Chief information officer 

Steven was appointed CIO of the group in 2006. 

Before joining ADvTECH, he held the position of group 

IT executive at Murray & Roberts. He has worked in 

various industries across Africa, gaining extensive 

experience in his field. In his various roles, Steven 

has ensured that business was able to leverage off 

technology investments and trends, thereby assisting 

companies to conduct business through technology 

in different ways to enhance operations and raise 

business performance. He attained a BCom in Finance 

and Administration in 1995 at the University of Natal. 


17

WHY IS ADvTECH LISTED 

ON THE STOCK EXCHANGE? 

When ADvTECH’s founder, Brian Buckham, started a small IT training business in Anderson Street in 

the Joburg CBD, he couldn’t have imagined just how successful the ADvTECH Group would become. 

In case you’re still in the dark about how ADvTECH came to be, here’s a short recap: 

1978 

Brian Buckham starts an IT training 

business in Anderson Street, 

Johannesburg 

1987 

Advanced Technical Systems Limited 

lists on the Johannesburg Stock 

Exchange (JSE) with a share price 

of 55 cents. 

1990 

The end of apartheid is declared, 

Nelson Mandela is released from prison 

and a new political dawn breaks in 

South Africa. Brian Buckham realises 

that education would be the key to 

South Africa’s success. 

The benefits of listing 

on the stock exchange 

Listing a company means that instead 

of one or more people holding all the 

company’s shares, the shares are made 

available on a stock exchange where they 

are traded not only as a way to raise funds, 

but to make ordinary people a part 

of the success of our business. 

There are quite a few steps to follow before 

you can list on a stock exchange, read more 

about them. In 1987 Brian and his 

management team would have needed 

to follow the applicable steps to get the 

company listed. 

Some of the benefits of listing include: 

Companies can trade their shares securely 

and efficiently through a fully automated 

trading system. 

Raising funds through selling shares 

is better than entering into a debt 

agreement with a bank. In the event that 

companies need to make use of debt 

facilities from a bank, they have the added 

benefit of banks being more inclined to 

lend them money. This is because the 

banks know that the listed company is 

now likely to be fiscally responsible as it is 

expected to comply with listing and other 

regulatory requirements. The company 

therefore has both options available in 

terms of raising capital to either pay off 

existing debt or to fund expansion plans. 

A listing attracts local analyst coverage 

and media interest, which helps boost 

the company’s reputation and profile. 

A listing facilitates broad-based economic 

empowerment deals. 

1995 & 1996 

ADvTECH makes its first acquisition 

in the education sector, including 

Rosebank College and Varsity College 

in 1996. 

1998–2015 

ADvTECH grows exponentially during 

this period, to 124 education, training 

and recruitment sites across South 

Africa and the African continent. 

From baby steps to giant leaps 

The ADvTECH story is a great example of a small business 

successfully making the transition from a privately held 

company to a publically listed one. Taking this step allows a 

company to raise funds through selling shares to the broader 

public and specialist investment groups. ADvTECH’s listing on 

the JSE in 1987 signaled the first step towards growing the 

business to what it is today. It enabled Brian to raise the kind 

of capital needed to acquire the schools, universities and 

resourcing businesses that the group now owns. 

How working for a listed company 

benefits you 

Listing not only holds advantages for the company, but also for its 

people. Here are a couple of ways that you benefit from ADvTECH 

being a listed company: 

The company’s brand value increased after its listing, making 

ADvTECH an attractive employer to talented people. You are one 

of those people, and you benefit from working with and learning 

from some of South Africa’s best and brightest individuals. Not to 

mention that working at ADvTECH looks really good on your CV! 

ADvTECH has better access to services and facilities offered by 

banks and other service providers, which means that you can be 

assured of timely salary payments and access to additional perks 

and benefits not ordinarily available at smaller businesses. 

As part of the JSE’s listing requirements, the company needs to 

publish an integrated annual report every year. This report gives 

shareholders and other stakeholders (like you, the employee) 

valuable insight into how the company works and how it has 

managed its financial and other resources during the applicable 

reporting year. You have the benefit of knowing exactly which 

challenges ADvTECH faces and how they are dealt with, and also 

see the important role you and your division plays in making 

the company a success. You can read the Integrated Annual 

Report here. 

We hope you’ve enjoyed this bit of insight into the benefits 

of listing, but feel free to look at our FAQs if you’d like to 

know more. 


CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 

What does it mean and 

why does it matter? 

Corporate governance is a term describing the system used to direct and control a 

company. At ADvTECH our board of directors oversees the management and 

operational structure that controls the group’s overall direction. 

The King Code of Corporate Governance 

Corporate governance is a dynamic field, with constantly evolving requirements based on the 

best practice principles controlling the sector the company operates in. Former High Court 

judge Mervyn King SC is widely regarded as an expert in the field of corporate governance. King 

published a report called the King Code of Corporate Governance in 2017, called King IV. The 

report contains 75 reporting principles that guide organisations toward responsible, transparent 

reporting that aligns with local and international standards. We have always supported the 

values contained in the King Report and we constantly aim for greater compliance to the Code 

of Corporate Practices section of the report. 

Why corporate 

governance matters 

While the Board and group 

management team are ultimately 

held accountable for the group’s 

ethical corporate governance, every 

one of us plays an important role 

in making our business one that is 

operated with integrity. When we are 

ill-informed about regulatory issues 

that could negatively affect our 

particular business unit, it places the 

entire group at risk for reputational 

or even financial damage. It’s worth 

understanding which laws and 

regulations govern your particular 

area of work and understanding 

exactly what you can do to ensure 

that we act with complete integrity 

and transparency in everything 

we do. 

REMUNERATION COMMITTEE 

This committee determines and 

approves how much employees 

are paid. The group CEO and group 

HR executive attend these meetings 

by invitation, but don’t have any say 

regarding decisions about their 

own remuneration. 

AUDIT COMMITTEE 

The committee is responsible for 

appointing the group’s auditors, 

agreeing the fees that must be paid 

to them and settling on the terms of 

their engagement. They also provide 

recommendations to the board about 

a number of operational issues. A full 

list of these is available. 

RISK COMMITTEE 

Every business faces several actual 

and potential risks in the day-to-day 

execution of their tasks. While the Risk 

Committee has assumed responsibility 

for monitoring and overseeing the 

management of risk within the group, 

the board, Exco and the internal audit 

department continue to review and 

assess the integrity and the quality of 

our risk control systems and ensure that 

risk policies and strategies are effectively 

managed. 

MORE ABOUT 

THE BOARD 

The ADvTECH Board consists of two 

executive and eight non-executive 

directors. The board encourages greater 

integration of corporate governance 

principles across all areas of operation 

to help the group to run its business in 

an efficient, ethical and sustainable way. 

This in turn creates value and sustainable 

returns, which means that more 

investments will be made into the 

private education sector. 

The directors have a wide range of 

experience in strategic, financial, legal, 

information technology and educational 

activities. This means that there is enough 

intellectual capital to guide the business 

towards long-term success. You can 

find the directors’ details and a short 

description of their CVs on p 14 –17. 

The board has six committees, 

established as part of regulatory and 

business requirements. Members of 

the board are appointed to committees 

based on their areas of expertise 

and experience. 

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE 

The Investment Committee reviews 

and manages the funding and other 

financial aspects that constitute part 

of the investment strategy, such 

as acquisitions. Its members provide 

recommendations on where and 

what to spend money on; in essence, 

what would be worthwhile long term 

for the group’s sustainability 

and growth. 

TRANSFORMATION, SOCIAL AND 

ETHICS COMMITTEE (TSEC) 

TSEC monitors and oversees the 

group’s progress on aspects relating 

to transformation at every level. 

It considers social and ethical 

aspects, and, where appropriate, 

provides management with guidance 

in this regard. 

The divisional CEOs must attend the 

majority of TSEC meetings held during 

the year. This ensures that social and 

ethical matters, as well as matters 

pertaining to transformation, remain 

high on management’s agenda. 

NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE 

The committee meets when 

necessary, to nominate, evaluate 

and recommend possible new 

appointments to the board. 


19

MAKING ADvTECH A 

GREAT PLACE TO WORK 

EMPLOYEES 

Our 7 549 (2017: 6 743) employees are 

the backbone of our operations and core to 

our long-term sustainability. 

Owing to the nature of our business, we also employ many 

independent contractors such as lecturers and sports coaches. 

Our people are our greatest asset; they are key to the success of our 

business and add value to the lives of thousands of students, 

parents, job candidates and clients. We take pride in our highly 

skilled workforce. 

Our development programmes, which fall under our ADvTALENT 

initiatives, are continually reviewed and refined, ensuring that our 

people are given the means to provide quality service at all times. 

We continually identify and develop key employees and high 

potential individuals within the ADvTECH group. Our ability to 

attract and retain skills is influenced by our structured approach to 

talent management. Identified employees participate in our 

structured management and leadership development programmes 

and we actively encourage further academic study. All these 

interventions, in turn, support the business and its performance. 

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT 

Attract 

+ 

Provide necessary 

development 

Retain 

= 

Create a high 

performance culture 

Best 

employees 

Leadership development 

At ADvTECH we believe in developing our leaders so that they are 

equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to perform 

at their peak. We focus on building their confidence to ensure that 

they can lead and develop high-performing teams. 

We have created purposeful learning solutions that are linked to our 

business strategic goals and to the personal development plans of 

our leaders. 

Management toolkit programme 

The management toolkit programme is designed specifically for 

onboarding our managers and aims to improve their time 

management and competence in their new role. We want to ensure 

that our new leaders are equipped with the skills to be personally 

effective and can manage talent, as well as engage their people to get 

things done at the highest level. We ensure that they will become 

strategic thinkers who can execute in line with the business imperatives 

which seek to keep the customer at the core of what we do. 

Management Development Programme 

(MDP) 

The MDP stretches the abilities of talented leaders. We aim to close 

the gap between the talent we have and the talent we want to 

develop to implement our strategic goals in a systematic way. The 

MDP workshops are fundamental building blocks to expanding the 

commercial and strategic mindset of our leaders. 

The programme includes a work-based project that is linked to the 

MDP candidate’s performance goals. Candidates will have an 

opportunity to showcase their talent to our executives as part of 

their assessment process through the programme. 

Leadership development masterclasses 

Our leadership development masterclasses focus on growing our 

leadership competencies throughout our business. Our best-ofbreed 

blended solutions are relevant to the challenges our leaders 

face as our business grows and evolves. We give them skills that 

keep them agile in a dynamic environment. 

Principal Development Programme (PDP) 

The PDP launched in 2018 is our flagship programme for leaders in 

the teaching fraternity. It is aimed at both principals and deputy 

principals. The role of our principal is not only to ensure that a school 

or campus runs smoothly, but he/she must be able to execute on the 

commercial requirements of sustaining a school operation. 

Our programme ensures that our principals are able to identify and 

understand the financial levers that drive ADvTECH’s business to 

maximise revenue and return on investment. We also develop our 

principals’ ability to engage, inspire and lead a vast array of 

stakeholders including their own teams. 

Mentorship programme 

Our structured Mentorship programme supports our entire 

management and leadership development philosophy and helps 

ensure that our people are equipped and supported in achieving 

their career goals. 

Although the minimum requirement for mentor/mentee pairs is that 

they meet for at least an hour each month, we are proud of the fact 

that our people spend more than the required amount of time 

together, working on ways to best support our mentees’ career goals. 


There are 65 mentors who are actively engaged with mentees. 

The mentorship expands beyond the formal programme and they 

have a knock-on effect as they deal with other staff and students. 

Coaching support 

Coaching for staff members is presented in the following areas in 

support of leadership development: 

> > Providing leaders in transition business coaching support as 

they migrate to new areas of responsibility and are required to 

focus on new behaviour values and time applications 

> > Support newly appointed managing directors 

> > Syndicate group coaching support to delegates participating 

in the MDP 

> > Syndicate group coaching support to delegates participating in 

the PDP 

AWARD CATEGORY 2018 

5 year 

service 

222 

20 year 

service 

32 

10 year 

service 

149 

30 year 

service 

2 

15 year 

service 

56 

In line with our stated goal of being a great company to work 

for, our group campuses have employee-centred facilities with 

a strong focus on building a competitive employee value 

proposition to ensure that we attract and retain the best 

people. Our people have access to some of the following 

facilities and benefits: 

> > Risk cover (death and disability) 

> > Retirement provision 

> > Optional medical aid membership 

> > School fee reduction bursaries to staff dependants 

> > Study assistance at our internal brands 

> > Accredited learning opportunities 

> > On-site recreation facilities at most sites 

> > Counselling facilities 

> > Outsourced Employee Assistance Programme 

> > Various health and welfare events 

> > Employee recognition awards 

e.g. long-service 

> > Onsite canteens 

> > Other benefits 

The key to consistent high quality service delivery lies in 

attracting and retaining well-qualified, experienced and 

enthusiastic employees. 

Long-service awards are presented on completion of five years’ 

service and every five years thereafter to acknowledge the 

important contribution of longer serving employees. 

Repeated on p22 

TOTAL 

461 

In actively encouraging further skills development to support the 

business as it grows, we also support employees by offering 

bursaries. Employees have the opportunity to obtain bursaries for 

themselves as well as family members. 


21

MAKING ADvTECH A GREAT PLACE TO WORK CONTINUED 

“Imagine a team of strong rowers, each rowing in a 

different direction. The boat won’t move very fast or 

very far. Or, imagine a line of talented archers, each 

pointing his or her arrow at a different target: even 

with the best of aim, no single target will end up 

with more than a few arrows. Now, picture the 

rowers pulling in unison, with oars dipping in the 

water at precisely the same moment. The boat 

shoots down the river. Or, picture the archers lined 

up, aimed at the same target. Even if a few miss the 

shot, the target is full of bulls-eyes.” – Group HR. 

That is the power of performance management: it assures we are 

pulling together and is designed to help every employee to deliver 

his or her best, so that ADvTECH achieves its best. 

Performance management helps us to align efforts to meet the 

most important targets, and it starts with goal setting – making sure 

our individual efforts are aimed at the right things (our objectives) at 

the right time (focused on company priorities). Delivering a great 

performance is an individual achievement, but performance 

management is a ‘team sport’. 

THE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PROCESS 

THE POWER OF 

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT 

STEP 1 

SETTING OBJECTIVES 

Develop mutually agreed upon 

objectives/KPAs 

STEP 2 

MID YEAR REVIEW 

Review progress against 

objectives/KPAs 

STEP 3 

YEAR END REVIEW 

Review Annual Performance 

against objectives/KPAs 

Just like ADvTECH as a business has a growth strategy, each one of 

us has individual growth strategies. This is a reflection of our high 

performance culture where everyone has the opportunity to work 

on their personal development, which eventually contributes to the 

overall group strategy. 

Goals must be SMART: 

Specific 

Measurable 

Agreed Upon 

Realistic 

Time Bound 

JOB GRADING 

Although there are several job grading systems, ADvTECH uses the 

Paterson Broadband grading system (e.g. CL, CU, DL etc.). 

We grade the job, not the person and this is used for benchmarking 

purposes. 

For more information on job grading please contact HR or visit 

www.patersongrading.co.za 

REMUNERATION 

ADvTECH pays on a total cost to company basis. This means that all 

contributions to the provident fund, medical aid, death and 

disability benefits, and structured allowances such as car allowance 

are included in your package. 

This does not include the company’s contributions to statutory 

payments such as UIF and schools development levy (SDL). 

Though we don’t provide a 13th cheque, you may make provisions 

to receive one by electing to have your salary divided by 13 in order 

to have a “13th cheque” in December. You also have the option to 

pay the tax on this amount monthly so that you are free to spend as 

you see fit for December. 

We aim to pay all salaries on or around the 25th of each month but 

the December payments are at the sole discretion of the company. 

Salaries are reviewed on an annual basis, based on merit. 

MEDICAL AID 

ADvTECH contracts with Discovery Health Medical Scheme but you 

are not obligated to have a medical plan with Discovery, let alone 

have medical aid at all (but you need to be sure that you are able to 

meet your medical expenses). 

You are welcome to have a plan in your own capacity, whether from 

Discovery or a different healthcare provider which is not 

administered through ADvTECH. 

We know how busy worklife can be – so, to assist you, we have NMG 

who are the “middle me n” who will help you with medical aid 

queries, claims, etc. 

NMG serves as an intermediary. They have a direct link to a person at 

Discovery who assists with employee’s medical aid matters. You also 

have the option to meet their representative face to face, as we have 

cycles where an NMG consultant visits our offices. Contact HR 

should you wish to make an appointment. 

Even if you are on a medical aid plan, hospitals can still demand 

more money such as co-payments or those doctors who do not 

work on medical aid rates. Therefore, we have a handy benefit 

offered to all employees through Stratum which is additional 

insurance for potential out-of-pocket expenses incurred for 

in-hospital procedures (gap cover). 


PROVIDENT/PENSION FUND 

An employee provident or pension fund is a very important 

tool for retirement planning. Thankfully, you do not have to worry 

about extra admin because ADvTECH provides this service 

for each employee. 

It is compulsory for you to be on either the provident fund or 

pension fund, depending on your brand. 

Provident 

Three contribution options: 

6,8%, 9,5% and 12,75% 

Pension 

Two contribution options: 5% 

and 7,5% 

This contribution includes death and disability benefits as well. 

Remember: you may increase your contribution in July of each year 

but you may never decrease the contribution once changed. 

STAFF CODE OF CONDUCT 

A consistent, positive image of the organisation is to 

be communicated at all times. 

Loyalty to colleagues and the organisation is 

mandatory. 

Enthusiastic participation in all aspects of the 

organisation is expected. 

LONG SERVICE 

Attendance is required at all major functions. Staff 

meetings and seminars are specifically included. 

ADvTECH offers you many benefits and there are those extras that 

really put a smile on your face and make you feel appreciated which 

is what a great employer aims to do. 

After working with the group for five full years, you will receive your 

first long service award. After that, awards are presented at 5-year 

intervals. 

Here’s what you get in the year of completed service: 

5 Years – R6 000 

10 Years – R11 000 

15 Years – R16 000 (Employees can choose between a 

taxable cash award or a tax free asset 

to the value of R5 000) 

20 Years – R21 200 




30 Years – R44 000 




Appearance and grooming must at all times reflect 

the organisation’s high professional standards. 

To maintain the privileges of the working 

environment, punctuality is essential. 

All required administrative duties must be completed 

timeously and must at all times reflect the 

organisation’s high professional standards. 

Positive, enthusiastic interaction with colleagues is 

vital. Mutual respect for colleagues must be 

honoured. 

Shouting at, insulting and humiliating colleagues are 

not permitted. 

Each of our employees are responsible for the good 

condition and safekeeping of equipment and fixtures 

provided at their workstations. 


MAKING ADvTECH A GREAT PLACE TO WORK CONTINUED 

LEAVE 

Our high performance culture consists of dedicated employees in 

each business unit who keep the wheels turning and keep ADvTECH 

sustainable as well as successful. We appreciate your hard work and 

enthusiasm but you also need to take time out, whether you go on 

vacation with your family or if you need to write an exam. 

Sick 

Leave 

Annual 

Leave 

LEAVE 

Family responsibility 

Leave 

Maternity 

Leave 

Study 

Leave 

Annual leave 

Not including teachers, when you begin working at ADvTECH: 

Grades A – C get 18 working days per annum 

Grades D+ get 23 working days per annum 

After 5 years of service: 

Grades A – C changes to 21 working days per annum and 23 days 

after 10 years 

Grades D+ changes to 26 working days per annum. 

Maternity and paternity leave 

All employees (except casuals and independent contractors) 

are entitled to four months maternity leave after one year of service 

at full pay. 

You may apply for an additional two months, which will be unpaid, 

and subject to management approval. 

In total, you would need to work back 12 months, on your return. 

An additional two days will be granted as paternity leave for those 

with more than one year of service (only for birth or adoption). 

* Not applicable to ADvTECH Resourcing. 

Sick leave 

For auditing purposes, if you take sick leave, you will need to capture 

your sick leave correctly in accordance with the number of days you 

were booked off. For example, if the doctor booked you off for three 

days, the system needs to balance according to your medical 

certificate. 

If you are ill: 

You need to take all reasonable steps to notify your manager, 

(preferably before 10:00 in the morning). 

Original medical certificates must be submitted for any sick leave 

taken on a Monday or Friday, or the day before and after a public 

holiday. 

Sick leave of more than two consecutive working days will only 

be granted as paid sick leave if you submit an original medical 

certificate from your doctor. 

Requests for sick leave must be made through the APS User Self 

Service process (refer to page 24 and 25). 

Should your leave not balance according to the medical 

certificate, ADvTECH reserves the right to investigate. 

Study leave 

Employees are entitled to 10 days study leave per annum provided 

they are registered for a full qualification, which does not carry over 

to the new year. 

This is for the day before and the day of the exam, as well as study 

blocks – but you would need to discuss this with your manager. 

Family responsibility leave 

You are entitled to three days family responsibility leave in a 

12-month period for: 

Birth 

Death 

Illness of immediate family 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE ABOVE AND OUR 

POLICIES AND BENEFITS, PLEASE VISIT ADvNET. 

STEP 1 

STEP 2 

www.advnet.co.za 

Group Services 

STEP 3 

Group HR 


A QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE FOR 

EMPLOYEES TO THE APS SYSTEM 

We know that automating administrative tasks means that we are able to collect, store and find important 

information much faster than if we continued to use a paper filing system. Our digital ADvTALENT People Solution 

(APS) system helps us to access employee records at the touch of a button. You also have the convenience of 

booking your leave online and our intranet has a wealth of information to help you navigate life at ADvTECH. 

HOW TO GUIDE FOR NEW EMPLOYEE 

PASSWORD DISTRIBUTION 

Once the Employee is Engaged in 

APS, the HR Administrator needs to 

do the following: 

1 

Send the Employee their 5 digit 

Person Code (without the Vision Key 

underscore), example 28651 

5 

Once the 

employee has 

successfully 

changed their 

password, they 

will be able to 

navigate through 

to APS 

2 

Advise the employee that their ID 

Number will be used as the password 

for their 1st login attempt 

3 

The employee will then be 

prompted to change their ID 

Number password to another 

password – for security reasons: 

4 

Once the employee clicks on Change, APS will 

confirm that the password has successfully been changed. 

Click on OK 

> > In the Old Password field the employee 

needs to type in their ID number 

password 

> > In the New Password field the employee 

needs to select a new password 

> > In the Confirm Password field the 

employee needs to retype their newly 

selected password 

Note 

If the employee ever needs to change their 

password, they can follow the How to change 

your APS password for USS How-to-Guide 

If the employee forgot their password 

they can follow the How to reset your 

APS password for USS How-to-Guide 

If the employee is still not able to log 

in, a call can be logged with 

apssupport@advtech.co.za 


A quick reference guide for employees to the APS system 

We know that automating administrative tasks means that we are able to collect, store and find important information much faster than if 

we continued to use a paper filing system. Our digital ADvTALENT People Solution (APS) system helps us to access employee records at the 

touch of a button. You also have the convenience of booking your leave online and our intranet has a wealth of information to help you 

navigate life at ADvTECH. 

SELF SERVICE MANAGER 

Help yourself to the APS 

system’s nifty Self Service 

Manager! 

HERE’S HOW: 

The User Self 

Service icon is 

displayed on the 

ADvNET home page 

1 

USER SELF 

SERVICE 

2 

Simply click on 

the User Self 

Service icon to 

enter the system 

Isn’t that 

a great way to 

work smarter? 

3 

Now you can navigate to your: 

Leave details 

Payroll details 

Personal details 

Moved house or changed any 

personal details? 

UPDATE THE APS SYSTEM QUICKLY 

& EFFORTLESSLY: 

Login to the APS system 

by clicking on the url 

link sent via email 

Select the User 

Self Service icon 

“Parlez vous 

francais?” 

1 

USER SELF 

SERVICE 

2 

3 

5 

Click on the Personnel button 

4 

Update your new 

residential address by 

selecting the Residential 

Address option and 

completing it 

It’s just 

that 

simple! 

Click on Save 

Or update any of your other 

information by either clicking on the 

Biographical Info, Postal Address, 

Qualifications, 

Languages, Family Members or 

Employment History forms 

6 

Tip! 

Select Effective Date Under the 

Reason option: 

Select Master Data Change option 

MY NEW PAYSLIP 

Ready to receive 

your all new payslip? 

HERE’S HOW: 

1 

USER SELF 

SERVICE 

2 3 4 5 

Enter the 

APS system by clicking 

on ADvNET 


Self Service 

option on the left 

Click on the 

Payroll button 

Click on the 

Service button 

Click on the 

Attachment Icon 

at the top right 

(the paperclip) 

Ta-da! 

Easy as 

pie! 

11 10 

9 

8 2015 7 Payslip 

6 File Manager 

2014 

2016 

From here you 

can print the 

payslip 

Double click 

on the relevant 

payslip and it 

will download 

in PDF format 

Your payslips 

will be displayed 

on the right 

hand side 

Select the 

year you are 

looking for 

Select Payslip 

Select File 

Manager and 

expand the 

payroll folder 


TAKING LEAVE 

Checking your 

leave is easy with the 

APS system! 

HERE’S HOW: 

1 

USER SELF 

SERVICE 

2 3 4 

Enter the APS system 

via the User Self 

Service icon on the 

ADvNET home page 


Self Service 

option on 

the left 

Click on Leave 

Balances 

Your leave balance 

information will 

appear on the 

Leave Balances 

screen 

Easy 

as 

that! 

Looking for some R&R? 

USE THE APS SYSTEM TO APPLY FOR LEAVE: 

1 

USER SELF 

SERVICE 

2 3 4 6 

5 

Enter the 

APS system via the 

User Self Service 

icon on the ADvNET 

home page 


Self Service 

option on 

the left 


Request 

Click on 

Add 

Click Save at 

the bottom 

left 

Enter the required 

information into the 

Leave 

Request form 

Enjoy 

the time 

off! 

Got a medical certificate you need to upload? 

WITH THE APS SYSTEM THIS CAN BE DONE IN A FLASH: 

1 

USER SELF 

SERVICE 

2 3 4 5 

6 

File Manager 

Enter the 

APS system via 

the User Self Service 

icon on the ADvNET 

home page 


Self Service 

option on 

the left 


Request 

Enter the required 

information into 

the Leave 

Request form 

Click on the 

attachment icon 

at the top right 

(the paperclip) 

Select File 

Manager 

Done 

and 

dusted 

7 

Leave Documents 

8 

Sick Leave 

9 

10 11 

Select Leave 

Documents 

Select Sick 

Leave 

Now click the 

Browse option 

Select the file 

you wish to 

upload 

Click the Upload 

option and save 

the file with the 

correct naming 

format 


OUR GROUP 

DEPARTMENTS AND 

FUNCTIONS 

You now know that ADvTECH is a “house of 

brands”. Even though each brand operates 

independently, we have departments based 

at Support Office that play an important role 

to support you and deal with tasks that need 

to be addressed at group level, for example 

reporting to the JSE and shareholders. 

GROUP PROPERTIES 

> > Land acquisitions 

> > Land development 

> > Town planning 

> > Due diligence 

> > Facilities management 

> > Procurement 

> > Property development 

> > Property management 

> > Expansions and refurbishments 

> > Repairs and maintenance 

> > Environmental health and safety (EHS) 

> > Leases 

> > Integrated facilities management 

 

GROUP INTERNAL 

AUDIT 

Independent assurance provides over the 

following areas: 

> > Governance 

> > Risk management 

> > Management controls over: efficiency/ 

effectiveness of operations 

> > Financial and management reporting 

> > Compliance with laws and regulations 

GROUP FINANCE 

> > Management reporting 

> > Financial reporting 

> > Banking 

> > Cash management 

> > Tax 

IT 

> > Infrastructure for automation 

> > Governance for network and operating 

systems 

> > Providing functionality 

> > Installation and maintenance of computer 

network systems 

> > IT network responsibilities 

> > Network contingencies 

> > Application development 

> > Technical support 

> > Telephony 


GROUP CORPORATE 

AFFAIRS AND 

COMMUNICATION 

> > Corporate communication 

> > Internal communications 

> > ADvNET, intranet 

> > Public relations 

> > Media relations 

> > Crisis communication 

> > Corporate social responsibility 

> > Market research 

> > Corporate identity & style guide 

NEW BUSINESS 

DEVELOPMENT 

> > Improving department performance 

> > Assisting with strategic planning 

> > Identifying new market segments 

> > Countering competitive strategies 

> > Mergers and acquisitions 

> > Legal 

> > Strategic management 

> > Proposal management 

GROUP HR 

> > Talent manager 

> > Transformation 

> > Total rewards 

> > Organisational culture and wellness 

> > Talent development 

SHARED SERVICES 

> > Accounts payable 

> > Payroll 

> > Debtors 

> > Procurement 

> > Travel management 

> > HR administration 

GROUP LEGAL 

> > Mergers and acquisitions 

> > Contract management 

> > Litigation management 

> > Legal compliance 

> > Statutory compliance 

> > Corporate governance 

> > Intellectual property management 

> > Company secretarial management 


FINDING 

INFO 

THE ADvTECH GROUP WEBSITE 

The ADvTECH group website 

serves as an external 

communications platform 

between the group and our 

shareholders, stakeholders and 

the general public. 

As a JSE listed organisation, the 

information contained on the site 

includes details on our brands as 

well as investor relations content, 

financial results, share price 

indicators, annual reports as well 

as information on our board of 

directors and executive team. 

www.advtech.co.za 

WHERE TO FIND INFORMATION 

How to get information within the group – face-to-face 

1 

Ask your line manager 

Line managers have a wealth of knowledge! Your line manager can help answer many 

of the questions you may have. Alternatively, your line manager will be able to direct 

your query to the relevant parties within the business. 

2 

Chat to your MD’s PA 

The PA to the MD usually has a very good idea of processes within the 

group and has built a relationship with Support Office. 

ADvTECH Group 

E-mail: 

info@advtech.co.za 

ADvTECH Group Head 

Office/Schools 

Division/IIE 

Phone: 011 676 8000 

3 

Get in touch with Support Office 

You also have the option of chatting to us directly at group Support Office. Simply 

e-mail us or call through to reception and you’ll be directed to the correct 

department. 


Resourcing 

Phone: 011 234 2404 

Important information is also distributed throughout the group via e-mail and the intranet (ADvNET). 


Introducing ADvNET 

ADvTECH’s intranet (ADvNET) is a website that is only available for 

ADvTECH employees to view. ADvNET is built on the SharePoint platform 

and contains important news, information and other resources relevant 

for consumption by our employees. 

ADvNET helps to keep employees up to speed on various happenings 

within the company. It is also an effective way of communicating through 

posting articles and company documents. 

Consistently communicating a brand is important in all industries, 

therefore standardising our approach supports our business. 

www.advnet.co.za 

Group Services and 

Information 

Group IT Services and Information – 

How-to Guides, call logging, news, policies 

Group HR Services – 

Forms, policies, medical aid, provident 

fund, remuneration strategy, 

tax information 

Group Finance Services – 

Group Finance forms, group Insurance 

forms, policies 

Discovery Health – 

group Discovery medical aid information 

and forms 

Careers at ADvTECH Group – 

Current openings and vacancies 

within the group 

ADvTECH Group Health & Safety – 

group health & safety information 

ADvTECH Group Fraud and Ethics – 

group ethics information – fraud reporting 

CSI Depository – 

Access, How-to Guides, templates 

INFORMATION THAT CAN 

BE FOUND ON ADvNET 

Resources 

Group 

Logos 


style guide 


CI manual 


31

PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT 

> > IT project service 

> > IT risk management 

> > IT governance 

> > Pulse audits 

> > IT solution architecture 

> > IT standards 

> > IT software licensing 

APPLICATION MANAGEMENT 

> > Systems administration 

> > Application support 

> > Database management 

> > Quality assurance and testing 

> > Website hosting and support 

> > Intranet & document management 

> > Application security 

SERVICE MANAGEMENT 

> > nt 

COMMUNICATION & COLLABORATION 

> > Telephony 

> > Skype 

> > Email 

> > MS Teams 

> > MS Planner 

DESKTOP SERVICES 

> > On Site support 

> > Software and hardware install 

> > Desktops 

> > Remote support 

> > IT onboarding & terminations 

INFRASTRUCTURE 

> > Networking & connectivity 

> > Data Centre services 

> > Capacity management 

> > Event management 

> > Security management 

> > IT security service 

> > Backup services 

ADvTECH IT SERVICES & 

GUIDELINES – AT A GLANCE 

GENERAL USE AND OWNERSHIP OF IT 

ADvTECH provides technology infrastructure, systems and IT 

equipment to its employees, contractors or third parties as a 

business tool for performing their daily functions. 

Information security reminders 

> > Apply good judgement in your use of our technology. 

infrastructure, systems, data and IT equipment. 

> > Be careful when connecting internal or external devices to 

ADvTECH’s IT system. 

Click here to read more on ADvNET 

PROTECT IT ASSETS 

ADvTECH purchases and issues hardware equipment to 

employees as an important business tool. It is essential that all 

hard drives in laptops have Bitlocker encryption enabled to 

safeguard the information. 


> > If you need to leave IT assets in the office, ensure that they 

are locked in a safe place. 

> > Save onto OneDrive for Business or SharePoint so that your 

documents can be synchronised to the Cloud. 

> > Ensure that your laptop is transported in the locked boot of 

your car and not on the seat when travelling. 

> > Use a good quality bag that is designed to carry laptops. 

> > All portable assets must have a login and password to 

safeguard the Information. 


PASSWORD PROTECTION 

Passwords are your individual key to the ADvTECH information 

systems. They must be protected as you would protect your 

banking details or your personal information online. 


> > Do not write passwords down making it easier for someone 

else to find and use. 

> > Do not use trivial passwords that can easily be guessed or 

resemble any sort of sequence. 

> > Do not share your User login details (including but not 

limited to your User name and password) with any third 

party. 



PROTECT ADVTECH’S PRIVATE 

AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 

ADvTECH regards all customer data (for example, personal), 

proprietary data (for example, strategic and expansion plans) and 

copyright material (for example, information on new products and 

services) as private and confidential information that should not be 

distributed to any person or entity outside the Group. 

MALICIOUS CODE AND 

VIRUS PROTECTION 

All ADvTECH brands and individuals using IT 

solutions are vulnerable to attacks from third 

parties who write viruses and malicious code 

to exploit user naïvete or weaknesses in 

operating systems. 


> > Only access data which is either your own, publicly available or 

specifically authorised for your access. 

> > Store Private and Confidential information on SharePoint, OneDrive 

for Business and/or within the ADvTECH business systems. 

> > You are accountable and responsible for the information in your 

possession. 

> > Information needs to be retained in accordance with the data 

retention guidelines or associated policy. 



> > Respond immediately to security 

software alerts. 

> > Do not bypass or disable security software. 

> > Report virus warnings or pop-ups that you 

see in incoming communications or file 

downloads to the IT Department via the 

service desk IThelpdesk@advtech.co.za with 

the subject header “Malicious or virus”. 


SOFTWARE USE 

Your computer is pre-configured with all the 

necessary and approved software for the tasks 

expected of you. Wherever possible, this configuration 

has been standardised within a software and 

operating system set that ADvTECH IT will support. 


> > Do not download or install unauthorised or 

unlicensed software, especially games. 

> > Do not download, receive, distribute and/or install 

software applications not approved by ADvTECH’s 

Group IT. 

> > Software installed on your computer needs to have 

an ADvTECH owned license. 


MOBILE COMPUTING 

While mobile computing devices like laptops, PDAs and cell 

phones allow us to work wherever we find ourselves, they do 

present a new risk to company information stored on their hard 

drives. We must take special precautions to protect them. 


> > Take extra care when using a mobile computing device in a 

public place, meeting room or other unprotected area. 

> > Take care when connecting your personal mobile devices to 

the ADvTECH network as all ADvTECH policies apply. 

> > When you are in a public space and need to share 

confidential data via your mobile device ensure that you do 

so in a safe way. 


STORAGE USE 

Make use of cloud storage before using an external hard drive or USB disk, 

to avoid data loss through the loss of external drives or USB disks. 


> > The network storage resources are for official business materials only. 

> > All laptop hard drives and external hard drives must be encrypted. 

> > Particular care must be taken with these forms of storage to prevent 

unauthorised use and information distribution. 

> > Removable storage devices and optical drives present many other 

problems, such as virus. 


INTERNET & EMAIL USE 

ADvTECH reserves the right to intercept any 

communication and/or record if such 

interception is reasonably required and justified. 


> > Do not send out bulk e-mails to multiple 

addresses. 

> > Do not post or transmit, by any means, 

any content which may bring ADvTECH 

into disrepute. 




YOUR PASSWORD 

Your ADvTECH username and password not only 

gives access to login into your PC, it opens portals 

to nifty applications and systems that can assist you 

in your job. 

Please note that you need to keep your password 

confidential and not share it. 

EDU-WIFI 

Edu-WiFi has been introduced as a new technology 

solution within ADvTECH, leveraging off Ariba technology. 

It is a single wi-fi access system that is being rolled out 

across the ADvTECH group. Where it is implemented, it will 

seamlessly connect you with your credentials, regardless of 

the site you’re visiting. 

So how does Edu-WiFi benefit you? 

1 There will be no need for a site IT staff 

member to continuously reconnect you to the 

site WiFi, as your usual credentials can be used at 

all sites throughout the group where the system 

is implemented 

2 Edu-WiFi uses the latest technology standards 

to ensure that your Skype for Business call 

quality and experience is optimal, allowing you to 

conduct online meetings and discussions efficiently 

and more weffectively 

3 Edu-Guest will allow you to effortlessly grant 

your guests and visitors access to the internet 

at sites where the system is active. You will be 

informed via email when your guests join 

the network 

For assistance email: ithelpdesk@advtech.co.za 

ONEDRIVE FOR 

BUSINESS 

OneDrive for Business is a platform available to everyone 

within the ADvTECH group. It allows us to store our 

documents and files securely online (in the cloud) and 

access them anytime, anywhere. 

To name a few: 

You get one Terabyte of online storage (that’s a lot) in our 

cloud to save all your documents and files. All the files you 

save onto OneDrive are private, unless you decide to share 

them. Your existing files can be synchronised with OneDrive 

automatically and the files you save to OneDrive are always 

available online, wherever you are, at OneDrive.com 

(Office 365) and offline, on your PC. 

For more information: https://sway.com/ 

y6qufZCq0fneEMHN?ref=Link 

MimeCast 

MimeCast is the mail filter tool that the group uses. 

Features include archiving of all emails and blocking 

of suspicious mail. 

If an email is blocked, you will receive an email that informs 

you of this and you can log a call (service request) with the 

service desk to release this. 

If you suspect that you are not receiving critical emails, you 

may need to check Mimecast to ensure that Outlook is not 

blocking mail with a larger file size. This can be done using 

the following URL: https://login-za.mimecast. com/m/ 

portal/app/#/mail/inbox 

GET SOCIAL AND KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST ON: 

Facebook – 


Linkedin – 


Twitter@ 

advtechgroup 

Instagram @ 

advertechgroupsa 

Look out for brand specific social pages 


NEW SYSTEMS BEING IMPLEMENTED 

STASY 

Schools and Tertiary 

Academic System 

• One system from Kindergarten to Postgrad 

• Seamless integration with other systems 

• Improves service to the customer 

• Easy to operate across geographies and regulatory environments 

• Replaces legacy systems 

• Enables data-driven decisions 

• Shared education management system 

• School/university administration software system 

• Multi-brand – multi-educational across regulatory requirements 

• Change the way we operate 

• Customer experience 

WHY STASY? 

BUSINESS 

• Improved reporting and analytics 

• Enable informed data-based decisions 

• Scalable new technologies 

• Safe and secure 

• Single platform 

• Centralised data 

• Support and customer service 24/7 

• Cost saving and efficient 

B 

C 

S 

STAFF 

• Capture student info ONCE 

• Sales, marketing and enrolments 

• Easy, simplified, flexible 

• Communication tool 

• Integration/Microsoft Classroom 

• Easy, always-on access to student 

information 

• Learning resource sharing abilities 

CUSTOMER/STUDENT/ 

PARENT 

• Online always-on access to: 

– Student information 

– Communication channels 

– Reporting 

• Vastly improves the learning experience 

STASY TIMELINE 

AND ROLLOUT 

PHASE 1 

(2018) 

• Schools division 

Tertiary division 

and new acquisitions • 

PHASE 2 

(2019) 

PHASE 3 

(2020) 

• Tertiary division 

• The IIE 


SHARED 

SERVICES 

SHIFTING 

GEAR 

SIMPLIFY 

ADOPT 

SERVE 

A Shared Services department enables our business to drive operational effectiveness, 

customer centricity and cost efficiency. Not only that, but we as employees can 

expect reliable, high quality support, ensuring greater focus on core, customer 

focused initiatives. 

It also allows us to leverage skills and economies of scale and grow the right 

professional talent to head the “operational backbone” of ADvTECH in a way that 

drives business value. 

We proactively seek ways to do things better – this is nothing new. It is part of the 

reason for our success and part of the joy of working at ADvTECH. 

ADvTECH is 

constantly looking for 

new and innovative ways 

to do business more 

effectively and efficiently. 

This is crucial if we wish to 

realise our 2020 

aspirations. 

Support 

Office 

SHARED SERVICES 

Ultimately Shared Services is a catalyst to drive change accross the group. We are all 

human and change is daunting at times and ADvTECH understands this. Therefore, 

we look at change as a process: 

CHANGE CURVE 

Assist moving employees through phases 

7 Change 

internalised 

MOTIVATION/PERFORMANCES 

1 

Denial 

2 

Realisation 

3 

Resistance: anger 

5 

Searching 

6 

Understanding 

the meaning of 

change 

4 

Letting go 

TIME 


AN ENABLING 

CULTURE 

Culture holds an organisation together and motivates the 

people who work there. Our enabling culture is aimed at 

each individual within the organisation, where each 

employee thinks and acts like owners – taking personal 

responsibility for their performance and the overall 

business performance. 

ADvNET 

CHANNELS 


STRATEGY 

RESPONSIBILITY 

ACCOUNTABILITY 

DECISION-MAKING 

WITHIN YOUR 

ENVIRONMENT AND 

WITHIN YOUR SPECIFIC 

TEAMS 


INDUCTION 

WHO’S WHO 

GUIDED BY STRATEGIC 

OBJECTIVES 

In order to have an enabling culture, we feel that our employees 

should be free and encouraged to speak openly to their supervisor 

or other managers and directors about significant matters, share 

innovative ideas, process insights or just to have a chat. 

Here at ADvTECH we are lucky to have an approachable executive 

committee, including our CEO, who believe that establishing 

transparent and flexible bottom-up communication paths enables 

the success of each individual and ultimately the entire group. 

TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION 

Management 

Open-door policy 


STAFF 

SOCIAL MEDIA 

GUIDELINES 

DO think twice before 

posting: 

Privacy does not exist on social 

media. You are personally 

responsible for the information you 

are entrusted with and the content 

you post on social media. 

DON’T use your ADvTECH issued 

email address for any personal use 

on any social media. 

It is the era of social 

media indiscretion. 

There are many recent 

examples of people in 

South Africa who have 

paid dearly, posting 

thoughtless remarks on 

social media. 

DO understand that online 

activity is permanent: 

Everything posted on social media 

will probably stay online for a very 

long time. It is almost impossible to 

completely remove information from 

social media since there is no way 

of knowing where it may have been 

reposted and/or shared. 

DON’T transmit any confidential 

company information, customer 

data or trade secrets. 

DON’T post content or speculation 

about ADvTECH’s business 

performance, future products, 

pricing decisions, unannounced 

financial results, predictions, legal 

matters, stakeholders or any other 

confidential or proprietary 

information. 

When setting up a 

social media profile, 

most platforms give 

you the option to 

provide the name of 

your employer. Your 

activities on social 

media could land you 

in hot water, even if the 

incident does not relate 

to ADvTECH directly; 

your association to the 

company could legally 

see you in the wrong. 

DO recognise that you 

are entering into a social 

environment: 

Engaging in social media is like 

participating in a social event such 

as a meeting, a conference or a 

party. The same good manners 

apply. Behave as you would in the 

real world – consistent with the 

image you want to portray at work. 

DO strive for accuracy: 

Provide informed, well-supported 

opinions and if necessary, cite 

sources. Although social media is a 

more casual form of communication, 

it is still important to be factual. 

DON’T post any pictures of 

students; they provide approval for 

the use of their images to the 

respective ADvTECH 

brand only. 

DON’T post things you would be 

embarrassed to have your 

mother/boss see. 

DON’T speak on behalf of 

ADvTECH or any of its brands 

unless you have been placed in 

the position to do so. 

Did you know that 

there is an Electronic 

Communication and 

Social Media Policy? 

According to the 

policy using ADvTECH 

property, resources and 

time is discouraged 

and it could even be 

considered as an abuse 

of company resources. 

DO be respectful: 

Any content posted on social 

media could encourage 

comment and the discussion 

of opposing ideas. Consider 

your responses carefully 

and how they could affect 

ADvTECH, its shareholders 

and you. 

You will find more 

detail in the Electronic 

Communication and 

Social Media Policy 

available on ADvNET. 


USAGE OF ELECTRONIC 

COMMUNICATION AND 

SOCIAL MEDIA 

IMPORTANT ‘DOS’ AND ‘DONT’S’ 

It is important that all employees and contractors are 

aware of the stipulations and rules of the Electronic 

Communication and Social Media Policy document that is 

available on ADvNET (insert link here). 

This policy applies to all users who are associated with 

ADvTECH and whose communication in any form could be 

viewed as reflecting on ADvTECH and its reputation. This 

includes all users who have access to and/or use the ADvTECH 

group’s communication facilities, equipment or channels. 

Some of the general considerations 

Employees and contractors may use social media and 

electronic communication while at work to conduct 

ADvTECH’s business in terms of their roles and 

responsibilities, subject to the provisions of this and related 

policies governing conduct while associated with ADvTECH. 

The personal use of social media while using ADvTECH 

property, resources and time is discouraged and where it 

impacts on the productivity or role of the person concerned 

may be considered as an abuse of company resources. 

Similarly, private and personal use in moderation of 

communication facilities and equipment is acceptable, 

subject to the rules detailed in the electronic 

communication and social media policy. Common sense 

and good judgement should guide personal and private 

usage. When employees use these facilities for private 

matters, they are reminded that the purpose of provision 

of such facilities is for business effectiveness and that 

their communications may be accessed. 

The transmission of any confidential company information 

to any unauthorised persons both internally and externally 

is prohibited: This include customer data, trade secrets and 

any other material covered by existing company secrecy 

policies and procedure. ADvTECH expects all employees 

and contractors to conduct themselves in a virtual world or 

when using and form of electronic communication, as they 

would in other areas of life. ADvTECH explicitly reserves its 

rights to defend its reputation and that of its stakeholders 

in all spheres of employee life. 

ADvTECH explicitly confirms its zero tolerance approach 

against any prejudice or discrimination. 

ADvTECH expects all representatives (employed or 

contracted) to apply the same values, ethics, policies, 

expectations, guidelines based on sound judgement, 

respectfulness and common sense that would be informed 

by ADvTECH’s own values and ethics when interacting 

with stakeholders (stakeholders would include colleagues, 

parents, students, alumni, shareholders, suppliers, members 

of the public, media and other constituencies of ADvTECH. 

This means that ADvTECH requires representatives and users 

to conduct themselves online as they are required to do 

in person. 

ADvTECH empowers its employees and users to connect 

directly and responsibly with its stakeholders using social 

media and electronic communication tools when/or 

where appropriate. 

Any record or other content that is generated by a user 

when using the communication facilities and equipment 

will remain the property of ADvTECH. 


Use of ADvTECH communication 

facilities and equipment 

Please be aware that you may not (amongst other 

things): 

share your user login details with any third party 

use the computer facilities to access non-business 

webmail e-mail accounts 

post or transmit by any means any content which is 

unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, 

defamatory, vulgar, obscene, sexually explicit, profane, 

hateful, racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable 

content of any kind 

use the computer facilities to send out bulk e-mails to 

multiple addresses or send any other such unsolicited 

bulk communications using social media unless 

authorised to do so in the ordinary course of your 

role, or transmit by any means any content which 

may bring ADvTECH into disrepute 

download, receive, distribute and/or install software 

applications not approved by the group IT department. 

Think twice before posting! 

Privacy does not exist in social media. You are personally 

responsible for the information you are entrusted with and 

the content you post on social media. Consider what could 

happen if a post becomes widely known and how it could 

affect ADvTECH, its stakeholders and you. 

Understand that online 

activity is permanent 

Never forget – everything posted on social media 

will probably stay online for a very long time. It is 

almost impossible to completely remove 

information from social media since 

there is no way of knowing where 

it may have been reposted and/ 

or shared. There is no way 

to ensure that a post was not 

seen and shared, even if it is 

later edited, removed or 

deleted. 

KEEP IN 

MIND 

You are 

responsible for all 

activity which occurs on your 

user name. Remember to lock 

your workstation when unattended. 

Please read the complete electronic 

communication and social media 

policy document on ADvNET. 

You’ll also find a handy infographic 

to guide you on the use of 

social media. 

(INSERT LINK) 


41

FOCUS ON 

ACADEMIC 

EXCELLENCE 

THE CORE OF OUR BUSINESS 

ADvTECH remains Africa’s leading private education provider. Academic excellence is core to 

our strategy and has enabled us to continue growing our market share, despite the 

continuing increase of new entrants into the market. 

With the advantage of a strong central academic team that supports our 

learners, students, teachers and lecturers in differentiated brands that live 

out their own unique identities, we remain at the forefront of private 

education in the basic, higher and other tertiary education sectors. 

Delivering on academic excellence is a critically important part of the 

group strategy, and the academic strategy is key to the schools and 

tertiary divisions. 

Core to our strategies are: 

EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING AND LEARNING 

BENCHMARKING OUR PERFORMANCE against others 

and relative to previous years of our own 

performance to ensure we are living out a 

continual improvement ethos and can provide 

evidence to support our claims of excellence. 

LEARNING AND OTHER ANALYTICS are used to 

support decision making. 

Our brands are known for their 

high standard of quality 

education provided to various 

target markets and communities. 

Offerings differ per brand based 

on, inter alia, price, curriculum, 

examining authority or 

qualification and augmented 

non-academic offerings that, 

together, create the individual 

identity of the brand and 

campus. Regardless of the brand 

or programme/qualification, 

ADvTECH consistently delivers 

academic excellence and a 

tailored student experience, 

which results in the 

development of life and tertiary 

study-ready young people and 

qualified and competent 

graduates who are in high 

demand in the workplace, due 

to our industry-relevant and 

work-ready approach. 

INTERNATIONAL AND EMPLOYER RECOGNITION 

requires the ongoing building of our reputation 

and relationships. 


ACADEMIC 

EXCELLENCE WITHIN 

THE SCHOOLS 

DIVISION 

The ADvTECH schools academic team’s 

objective is to ensure that our students 

progress incrementally in a learning 

environment that is inspiring, engaging 

and challenging. 

The academic focus is centred on 

FOUR STRATEGIC QUADRANTS 

being the formal curricula and performance 

in the related assessments; core skills as 

essential global competencies; digital literacy, 

and global citizenship. 

Given the critical value of excelling in 

demanding school-leaving examinations to 

the future of each of our students in our 

schools, strong emphasis is placed on 

ensuring that students are exceptionally well 

prepared. Ongoing individual student 

progress is supported by continual analysis of 

student performance data, which is used to 

promote a personalised learning pathway. 

Our consistently exemplary matric results, 

which inevitably include a notable number of 

distinctions, are clear indicators that we offer 

the highest standard in education. 


THE FOUR STRATEGIC 

QUADRANTS 

This integrated approach to excellence is what makes ADvTECH 

schools so effective in their education offerings. Our students 

leave our schools with the confidence to contribute to, and find 

their place in 21st century learning and living. 

CURRICULUM 

IEB*, DBE*, 

ISASA*, EYFS*, 

Cambridge, 

International 

Baccalaureate 

Future-focused 

teaching and 

learning 

Challenging 

and engaging 

curriculum 

Performance 

analysis = 

personalised 

learning 

GLOBAL 

COMPETENCIES 

Computational thinking 

and coding 

DIGITAL 

LITERACY 

Computer networks 

and productivity 

New age 

technology spaces 

for collaborative problembased 

learning 

THINKING 

RESEARCHING 

COMMUNICATING 

GLOBAL 

CITIZENSHIP 

Critical 

Creative 

Reflective 

Inquiring 

Interpreting 

Presenting 

Personal 

integration 

Communicating 

with others 

SOCIAL SKILLS 

SELF-MANAGEMENT 

Understanding 

sustainable global goals 

and taking action 

International 

mindedness 

Embracing diversity 

Collaboration 

Leadership 

Personal 

behaviour 

Organisational 

skills 

Self reflection 

Growth mindset 

* IEB: Independent Examinations Board DBE: Department of Basic Education 

ISASA: Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa EYFS: Early Years Foundation Stage 


GLOBAL 

COMPETENCIES 

The second of the strategic quadrants. The global 

competencies continuum aimed at ensuring that 

students in our schools develop global competencies. 

The five key areas are: 

• Developing critical, creative and reflective thinking 

skills. 

• Developing research skills and the ability to analyse 

and interpret information from primary and 

secondary sources. 

• Developing strong communication skills that 

enable students to effectively share their opinions 

and collaborate with others using a variety of media 

and platforms. 

• Developing strong interpersonal and social skills so 

that our students can collaborate effectively in 

diverse contexts. 

• Developing self-management skills to empower 

students with organisational skills, including 

self-regulation, while developing a growth mindset 

to enable perseverance in the face of challenging 

and complex situations. 

These global competencies are not adjunct to the 

formal curriculum but are embedded in teaching and 

learning and all curricula and co-curricular activities in 

our schools. The central team supports the 

development of teacher competence through master 

classes, mentorship and networking, and ensuring that 

the core skills are part of the school culture and 

mindset. 

DIGITAL 

LITERACY 

Digital literacy extends far beyond computer literacy 

in our digital world and is thus given particular 

attention. The structured and progressive curriculum 

includes computational thinking and programming, 

computer networks and productivity, and global 

competencies such as creativity, collaboration and 

communication. The current primary school 

programme, Digital literacy in the primary classroom, was 

developed by internationally acclaimed academic, Dr 

Neelam Parmar, director of e-learning for the United 

Learning group of schools in the UK. 

In addition, various schools have introduced a hands-on 

21st century technology space, which includes using and 

applying new age technologies such as 3D printing, laser 

cutting, electronics, robotics, programming and design 

software. The new age technology spaces provides a 

combination of practical learning environments 

addressing real-world issues, taught through collaborative 

problem-based learning using 21st century higher order 

thinking skills and approaches. More often than not, the 

problems students seek to solve in the new age 

technology spaces are associated with the UN Sustainable 

Development Goals, and the approach used in the new 

age technology spaces includes the use of all the core 

skills and collaborative problem-based learning. 

GLOBAL 

CITIZENSHIP 

Promoting the development of our students as aware 

and contributing global citizens. The United Nations 

Sustainable Development Goals 2030 are referenced to 

provide a framework for engaging our students with 

global challenges such as hunger and environmental 

degradation as well as global opportunities such as 

gender equality and diversity. The aim is to nurture 

positive values and behaviour and a solution-seeking 

mindset in our students from a young age, so that we 

can encourage them to embrace innovation, creativity 

and the ability to articulate their perspectives and 

contributions. These skills draw on the formal 

curriculum as well as the core skills and digital literacy 

to support the development of globally competent 

individuals who will make meaningful contributions to 

society. 


FOCUS ON ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE continued 

TERTIARY DIVISION 

SCHOOLS HIGHLIGHTS 

We continually strive to improve and regard it as 

essential to align our offering to international 

standards. The integration of the International 

Baccalaureate and Cambridge International 

programmes as well as the participation in 

external international benchmark assessments 

such as the ACER (Australian Council of 

Education Research) are key aspects of our 

quality assurance. By combining local external 

assessments with international ones, we have 

ample data and a clear understanding of how 

our students are performing in specific learning 

areas, and receive continuous feedback on the 

success of our educational efforts in all our 

schools. 

International recognition by Ivy League Schools 

More than ten of the world’s top universities, 

including Harvard, MIT, New York University, 

Columbia, Cornell and Princeton, returned to 

Crawford College, Sandton, in 2018 to identify 

top matriculants to join their programmes in 

2019. In recent years, the opportunity to study at 

these leading universities has seen several 

Crawford College students excel on the global 

stage. 

Tournament of minds 

ADvTECH hosted the second Tournament of 

Minds (TOM) held in South Africa. TOM is an 

international competition, initiated in Australia 

and conducted in 16 different global regions. 

Where TOM differs from other international 

competitions is that the focus is not only on 

content and process in one discipline, but rather 

on problem-solving and creative thinking 

activities involving open-ended challenges. These 

include experimentation and divergent thinking, 

while promoting collaboration within teams to 

develop potential solutions. The challenges are 

set internationally. 

ADvTECH’s tertiary division continued to grow 

its reputation as the leading provider of high-quality 

private education in the country. 

In keeping with our commitment to academic excellence, 

substantial investment ensured that ADvTECH was able to grow its 

offering and that more students would be able to access our 

educational offerings, either at state-of-the-art campuses across 

South Africa, or through industry-leading distance education 

programmes. Adding to the attractiveness of workplace-focused 

curricula, prospective students continue to be drawn by the 

advantage provided through smaller class sizes and resultant 

personal attention, which is no longer a feature of higher education 

in many other institutions. 

THE IIE 

With an average module pass rate of 82%, 101 higher education 

qualifications offered through Varsity College, Vega and Rosebank 

College campuses, the Independent Institute of Education (IIE), 

ADvTECH’s higher education division, continued to cement its 

position as South Africa’s leading “private university”. Our strategic 

decision to create one higher education provider operating through 

strongly differentiated brands pays off in 

the quality of the education offered to 

students. 

The IIE’s five faculties provide 101 

accredited qualifications from higher 

certificate to masters’ level, to almost 40 

000 full qualification students. The IIE also 

offers numerous qualifications through distance learning. This range 

and scope means that there is a perfect educational opportunity for 

almost every ambition. Over and above local accreditation through 

the statutory bodies, the IIE is also accredited by the British 

Accreditation Council (BAC), which demonstrates to students and 

employees that the IIE’s standards are indeed world-class and 

undoubtedly instils confidence in students about the credibility and 

value of their qualifications. The BAC is an independent authority in 

the UK that accredits private providers in the UK and elsewhere, 

including countries such as Greece, Switzerland, Singapore, India, 

Mauritius and the United Arab Emirates. Standards are also verified 

by several other professional and strategic partners. 

The IIE’s brands placed 2 339 students in their first jobs in 2018. This 

bears testament to the effectiveness of its approach to work 

readiness, which includes tailor-made preparation programmes and 

Career Centres on campus. 


Although each brand has its own particular focus and emphasis, the 

IIE’s success can be attributed to its unwavering commitment, on all 

campuses and in all programmes, to launching and building students’ 

careers, by way of: 

• innovative, student-centred teaching and learning, which includes 

comprehensive student support; 

• a strong focus on the constructive alignment of all parts of the 

curricula; 

• industry-relevant curricula based on established industry and 

academic partnerships which are verified through regular 

programme reviews and graduate tracking studies; 

• learning opportunities that meet the diverse needs of our students, 

and 

• structured programmes on all campuses linking students to the 

world of work. 

The IIE is able to achieve these successes because its model enables it 

to draw on the skills of all its people. This rich resource offers 

unmatched access to academic and industry leadership, resulting in 

curricula and campus experiences being consciously crafted to 

promote student success. The academic work is coordinated by our 

central academic team, which boasts impressive and extensive higher 

education experience and a track record of supporting their 

qualifications and brands. 

There are more than 100 professionals in the central academic team, 

including academics, instructional designers, professional editors, 

content developers, programme managers, operations coordinators, 

business process analysts, business intelligence experts and research and 

curriculum development specialists. The result is a strong central 

capacity from which the expertise at the brands and on the campuses 

can leverage support for the creation of focused and meaningful 

campus experiences. In particular, for the achievement of the academic 

deliverables, the academic expertise at brand level is leveraged strongly 

to supplement the central skills and results in an effective and efficient 

network. 

A measure of the success of this structure is that the IIE has the only 

DHET accredited and peer reviewed academic journal managed by a 

private higher education institution. The Independent Journal of Teaching 

and Learning is in its 13th year of publication with two editions annually 

and is available on open access platforms. 

THE IIE BY 

THE NUMBERS 

43 067 

graduates 

71% were 

employed 

within 6 months 

of graduation 

82% 

average module 

pass rate 

TERTIARY BY 

THE NUMBERS 

201 

accredited 

courses 

29 

campuses* 

3 000+ 

academic staff 

40 000 

registered students for 

full-time qualifications* 

i 

ABOUT PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES 

By law, private higher education institutions in 

South Africa may not call themselves private 

universities, although registered private 

institutions are subject to the same regulations, 

accreditation requirements and oversight as 

public universities. 


FOCUS ON ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE continued 

NEW ACADEMIC MARKETS 

Statistics have shown that the 

tourism sector remains one of the 

fastest-growing economic sectors 

and ADvTECH, through Capsicum 

Culinary Studio and The Private Hotel 

School (TPHS), now has 

comprehensive academic offerings 

for those who aim to pursue careers 

in the hospitality and tourism 

industry. 

The highly skilled teams of professionals 

at TPHS and Capsicum teach both 

nationally and internationally accredited 

courses, and its qualifications 

and graduates are sought-after in the 

workplace, both locally and abroad. With 

eight campuses between the two 

brands, one of which is a shared 

campus, both brands provide academic 

programmes which include practical 

training and specialised skills that equip 

students to succeed in the hospitality 

and tourism sectors. 

TPHS offers qualifications ranging from 

entry-level qualifications up to a degree 

in hospitality and events management as 

well as culinary arts. The curriculum 

combines innovative and cutting-edge 

hospitality instruction with sound 

practical training and knowledge 

of the industry. Students are trained to 

master professional skills and obtain high 

levels of the specialised knowledge 

required to excel in the hospitality 

environment. Its qualifications are 

endorsed by the American Hospitality 

Academy International Hotel 

Management Schools (AHA-IHMS), thus 

allowing students to complete an 

optional year in the USA. 

The school’s alumni rate of employment 

is a remarkable 100%, which attests to 

the quality of education offered and 

workplace recognition thereof. 

In the past decade, more than 4 000 

chefs have graduated from Capsicum, 

with many snapped up by leading local 

and global restaurants. Capsicum offers 

full-time and part-time City & Guilds 

recognised courses including a 

Certificate in Food Preparation and 

Cooking, Diploma in Patisserie, Diploma 

in Food Preparation and Cooking and 

the Combination Programme in Culinary 

Arts. 

Oxbridge Academy is one of the 

largest private distance learning colleges 

in the country, and serves more than 17 

000 students annually. Oxbridge offers 

students opportunities to gain 

job-relevant skills and strengthen 

existing skills and experience with an 

appropriate qualification or skills course, 

backed by strong academic and student 

support from industry experts and 

tutors. It continues to extend its 

academic offering and programmes, 

diversifying and increasing its product 

offering to make more qualifications and 

programmes accessible to students 

opting for distance learning. 

The University of Africa (UoA), based 

in Zambia, offers distance learning 

qualifications to a growing student base 

in Southern Africa, including South 

Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola, 

Uganda and the Democratic Republic of 

Congo. 

ADvTECH’s tertiary focus across all 

brands is on building student careers by 

continuously developing curricula to 

remain relevant in the world of work. 

We build strong industry, academic and 

professional body partnerships that 

ensure this relevance, while our 

commitment to student success 

includes a focus on quality teaching and 

student support and development. We 

seek to produce graduates who can, 

and will, contribute to the economy and 

society and, as a result, we 

unquestionably hold the leadership 

position in private education. 


ACCREDITED TERTIARY COURSES BY CATEGORY 

IIE 

101 

CAPSICUM 

3 

THE PRIVATE 

HOTEL SCHOOL 

5 

OXBRIDGE 

92 

12 DIPLOMAS 

80 NATIONAL 

CERTIFICATES 

AND DIPLOMAS 

1 MASTERS 

11 HONOURS 

28 DEGREES 

34 DIPLOMAS 

27 HIGHER 

CERTIFICATES 

3 NATIONAL 

CERTIFICATES AND 

DIPLOMAS (N1-6) 

1 DEGREE 

1 ADVANCED DIPLOMA 

1 DIPLOMA 

1 HIGHER CERTIFICATE 

1 NATIONAL 

CERTIFICATE AND 

DIPLOMA (N1–6) 

total 

201 

Accredited 

tertiary courses 

1 

MASTERS 

11 

HONOURS 

29 

DEGREES 

1 

ADVANCED 

DIPLOMA 

47 

DIPLOMAS 

28 

HIGHER 

CERTIFICATES 

84 

NATIONAL 

CERTIFICATES 

AND DIPLOMAS 

(N1 – N6) 

LOOKING AHEAD 

Distinguishing ADvTECH from its historic peers in the 

education sector is our commitment to innovation 

through the development of new qualifications, our 

approach to teaching and learning and our unrivalled 

provision of student support and service. 

A schools and tertiary administration software system, or 

student information system, was implemented in the schools 

division in 2018, providing them with consolidated information 

and high-quality reporting and analytics to generate actionable 

insights. It provides portals for parents, students and teachers 

and therefore changed the way we interact and give feedback. 

It will be further supplemented with analytical tools and internal 

and external benchmarking. 

This new system will enable us to set up common learning 

management tools to drive best practice and online 

professional development programmes. The system will also 

enable us to improve data literacy of teachers and school 

managers, therefore enabling better data-driven decision 

making. 

We continue to make full use of IIELearn, the Learning 

Management System (LMS), which supports the teaching and 

learning strategy to reach more students in the distance mode 

and enhance the learning experience of our on-campus 

students. 

Increasingly effective online education strategies are being 

developed and will be implemented in coming years to support 

our growth in the distance education space. We monitor each 

new operational feature to ensure that our growth does not 

compromise the quality of our teaching and learning. 

The Bridge, ADvTECH’s new assisted learning school, opened 

in January 2018 and offers alternative solutions for parents and 

students who are not currently adequately catered for 

in mainstream or special needs schools. Responding to a 

significant market demand, The Bridge represents a muchneeded 

opportunity for children with average to above average 

ability, whose learning is impacted by challenges such as 

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Attention Deficit 

Disorder (ADD) and mild autism or anxiety, or who have been 

through illness or trauma that affected their progress. 

The school assists learners to bridge the gap between where 

they currently find themselves and what is required in 

mainstream schools, in order to help each learner reach their full 

potential and develop strategies that will enable them to return 

to a mainstream classroom confidently and empowered. With 

small classes capped at 12 pupils, an individualised learning 

approach and therapeutic programmes, The Bridge caters to 

learners who are cognitively on par or ahead of their peers to 

address the challenges that have kept them from succeeding in 

mainstream schools. 



IMPORTANT COMMITTEES 

HESIO 

The health, safety and hygiene of our scholars, students and employees in their working and learning 

environment is a top priority. The HESIO committee meets quarterly to discuss and monitor the group’s 

progress in this regard as well as in Employment Equity (EE), skills development, social responsibility and as 

investors in people. 

To ensure that our sites are compliant with both International and South African best practice standards, as part of the 

group’s overall commitment to student and employee well-being, the group conducts external audits. 

Please ask your safety officer to direct you to escape plans and HESIO members to familiarise yourself with the environment. 

Of course, incidents are not common but we always need to be prepared and we will ensure that you are. 

HESIO 

H 

E 

S 

I 

O 

HIV Aids 

Human 

Resources 

Employment 

Equity 

Environment 

Skills 

Development 

Social Responsibility 

Investors-in-People 

(IiP) 

Occupational Health 

& Safety (OHS) 

The HESIO committee is a consultative committee of 

management and employees responsible for: 

MONITORING 

the implementation 

and management 

of workplace skills 

plans and 

integration with 

employment 

equity. 

ENSURING 

that policies, 

procedures and 

practices are fair to 

both employees 

and the company, 

and meet 

legislative 

requirements. 

ESTABLISHING 

a forum to discuss 

and enforce 

adherence to 

occupational health 

and safety matters. 

MONITORING 

the implementation 

of initiatives aimed 

at being “Investorsin-People”. 

ASSISTING 

in making 

ADvTECH a “great 

place to work.” 


51

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY 

ADvTECH has a National Employment Equity Committee and an 

employment equity committee for each division that were established 

to give effect to the provisions of the Employment Equity Act and the 

Skills Development Act. 

The purpose of these committees is to ensure that: 

Sufficient consultation takes place with representatives of all 

employees of ADvTECH in the development of employment 

equity plans. 

Processes are fair to all employees and meet legislative 

requirements. 

Please feel free to communicate your 

concerns or suggestions in any of the 

following ways: 

Plans are both achievable and make good business sense. 

The EE Committee strives to represent you, as an employee, 

and your issues in an ethical and professional manner. 

> > Have you seen or experienced unfair discrimination in 

your workplace? 

> > Are there barriers to employment equity that we should 

know about? 

SEND AN EMAIL TO 

ANY OF THE EE 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS 

IN YOUR DIVISION OR 

AT SUPPORT OFFICE IF 

YOU WORK THERE 

If you do not voice them, they may remain unknown and 

unaddressed. 

The following categories are drawn from the employment equity 

legislation that may be of some assistance when communicating 

your issues/complaints: 

Recruitment practices 

Training and development 

TALK TO ANY 

MEMBER OF THE 

EE COMMITTEE 

Advertising of positions 

Selection criteria 

Appointments 

Job classification and 

grading 

Remuneration and benefits 

Performance and 

evaluation 

Succession and experience 

planning 

Disciplinary measures 

Retention of designated 

groups 

CLICK 

HERE TO 

COMPLETE THE 

ANONYMOUS FORM 

(LINK TO THIS 

FORM) 

Contact your HR manager should you require 

any further information. 

Terms and conditions of 

employment 

Work environment and 

facilities 

Corporate culture 

Reasonable 

accommodation for 

disabled persons 


WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE 

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY ACT? 

The purpose of the Employment Equity Act is to promote equity in the workplace and to eliminate unfair 

discrimination. By implementing the Act, employers tend to achieve progress towards equity. This Act provides for an 

additional reporting requirement by employers through the submission of an Employment Equity Report annually. 

What does the Employment Equity 

Committee do? 

The Employment Equity Committees are responsible for ensuring 

that the Employment Equity Act is implemented throughout the 

organisation. The primary objective of the committee is, therefore, to 

develop an EE plan and regulate its implementation. In doing this, 

the committee promotes an environment where employees’ skills, 

roles and remuneration are based on fair and non-discriminatory 

practices. Furthermore, the committees ensure that the organisation’s 

processes around recruitment and advancement within the business 

are managed with the Act in mind. Finally, the National Employment 

Equity Committee also ensure that the sub-committees or divisional 

committees, as in the case at ADvTECH, are functional in pursuing 

the mandate of promoting equity in the workplace. 

How are the members of the Employment 

Equity Committee elected? 

Any permanent employee can serve as a member of the National 

Employment Equity Committee and comittee members are elected 

through an election process. The aim is to have an EE Committee 

that is representative of all designated as well as non-designated 

groups, and all job levels. When elected, the committee members 

hold office for three years. Thereafter, the election process is resumed. 

What are the roles and responsibilities of 

The National Employment Equity Committee? 

To identify Employment Equity and 

Affirmative Action concerns and barriers. 

To represent all employees in the interests of 

Employment Equity. 

To investigate any charges of discrimination 

and/or harassment of any kind, and report any 

findings to the EE Committee for recommendations. 

To make recommendations to management 

regarding the implementation of the Employment 

Equity Plans. 

To act as a representative channel for 

all employees. 

To act as the champions of cultural and 

organisational change by behaving in accordance 

with the code of conduct as stipulated in the 

constitution of the National Employment 

Equity Committee. 

To provide the EE Manager with feedback on the 

implementation of Employment Equity. 

What does the structure 

of the ADvTECH 

Employment Equity 

Committees look like? 

Resourcing 


Committee 

National Employment Equity Committee 

Schools Division 


Committee 

Tertiary Division 


Committee 

Support Office 


Committee 

Herewith a link to information on how you 

can get in touch with your specific divisional 

EE Committee members. 

Click here to find out 

who is your divisional 

committee 

You are welcome to contact the National 

Employment Committee by sending an 

email to: employmentequity@advtech.co.za 



WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION 

What is Workmen’s Compensation? 

If you are involved in an accident at work or develop an illness 

caused by your working conditions, then you can claim from the 

Workmen’s Compensation Fund. 

Compensation is a legal requirement 

Every employee of a company needs to report an injury or 

illness resulting from a situation while at work as soon as 

possible. The Compensation for Occupational Injuries and 

Diseases Act 130 (COIDA) was signed into South African law to 

provide compulsory compensation for all employees under 

contract of employment (with a few exceptions) for death or 

personal injury suffered during the course of their employment. 

How and when should it be reported? 

It can be reported verbally or in writing to one’s employer or 

supervisor and must be done as soon as possible after it occurred. 

All forms that need to be submitted to the Commissioner must be 

forwarded to group Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) 

ADvTECH, at mwhite@advtech.co.za right after the incident 

occurred but within a maximum of 5 working days to ensure the 

required 7-day claim period is met. 

What if you do not want to report an incident or make 

an official claim? 

If you do not wish to report the injury at the time, you will not 

be eligible to claim at a later stage. Nevertheless, it is best to 

report even a small injury, for example a paper cut, in case the 

situation worsens, or infection follows. 

If you choose not to file an official complaint? 

If an employee does not wish to report an injury or disease 

resulting from the workplace, ADvTECH will require you to fill out 

a form with immediate effect, stating that you are aware of the 

Workmen’s Compensation Fund rules and that you choose not 

to file an official report. This must be signed and dated by you 

and handed or sent to Group EHS. 

Who pays the claim? 

Claims are paid by the Workmen’s Compensation Fund, not by 

the company that employs you. You do not pay anything 

towards this fund, nor will any money be deducted from your 

salary or wages at any stage. ADvTECH makes all the required 

payments as a member of the fund. 

1 

Who can claim? 

Any employee who 

was injured or 

contracted a disease 

while working, 

whether permanent 

or casual, on 

training, or 

completing an 

apprenticeship. 

If you have lost 

a family member 

who died on the 

job. 

If you are a worker 

for ADvTECH paid 

by a labour agency. 

2 

What types of 

compensation are 

available? 

There are five kinds of 

compensation: 

Temporary disability 

Permanent disability 

Death benefits 

Medical expenses 

Occupational diseases 

3 

What can you 

claim? 

Any medical expenses 

relating to your injury, 

loss of movement or 

use of your body. You 

cannot claim for pain 

and suffering. 

4 

What do you need 

to do after you 

made a claim? 

Keep all your medical 

accounts, including 

fees for transporting 

an injured employee 

to a hospital or home. 

Also keep copies of all 

the forms you fill in. 

5 

5. What does the 

fund cover? 

The fund covers 

occupational diseases 

and workplace 

injuries. The working 

conditions and 

diseases caused by 

these conditions that 

are covered by the 

Compensation Fund 

are set out in 

Schedule 3 of the 

Compensation for 

Occupational Injuries 

and Diseases Act 

(130 of 1993). 

For full details regarding which forms are needed and other requirements, please email mwhite@advtech.co.za. 


THE HISTORY OF ADvTECH AT A GLANCE 

Imperial Underwood Campus, 

which is now incorporated 

under Rosebank College, 

commences operations 

Rosebank College is 

established 


is formed 

Brian Buckham founded 

the company, then known 

as Advanced Systems 

Incorporated 

Communicate Personnel 


ADvTECH is listed 

on the Johannesburg Stock 

Exchange (JSE) as Advanced 

Technical Systems Ltd 

1909 

1948 

1971 

1978 

1982 

1987 

Brent Personnel 

is launched 

Rosebank College and the 

Imperial Underwood College 

(IUC) are acquired 

Innovative Management 

Development (IMD) College 

is acquired 

CrawfordSchools 


with a campus in Killarney 

Varsity College is launched 

in Durban to provide tuition 

services to part-time 

UNISA students 

The Design School 

Southern Africa is formed 

Cassel & Company is 

established 

1996 

1995 

1993 

1991 

1990 

1989 

IMD and IUC are 

subsequently merged 

with Rosebank College 

Network Recruitment 

is formed 


1996/1997 

Varsity College 

is acquired 

CrawfordSchools and 

Abbotts College are acquired 

 

The National College 

of Photography is acquired 

and becomes part of Vega 


Pretoria East opens 

2007 

2006 

The resourcing division is 

started following the 

acquisition of the 

Communicate group and 

Network Recruitment 

The Village Pre-Primary School 

in Rivonia becomes a 

Crawford School 

18 pre-primary schools are 

acquired, to become the 

Junior Colleges brand 

Vega School is launched 

Cassel & Co and 

Brent Personnel are acquired 

Crawford Lonehill and 

Crawford La Lucia open 

1998 

1999 

Opening of Crawford 

North Coast 

The schools division is 

established 

Rosebank College 

Pretoria opens 

The Independent Institute of 

Education (The IIE) is 

established 

The property division 

is formed 

Luthuli Junior College opens 

in KwaZulu-Natal 

Founder Brian Buckham 

steps down as chairman 

of the board 

Insource.ICT 

is established 

2005 

2004 

2003 

2002 

2000 

Sunninghill Junior College 

is opened 


THE HISTORY OF ADvTECH AT A GLANCE continued 

Trinityhouse School 

is acquired 

2008 

The IIE is accredited by the 


(BAC), affirming the fact that 

The IIE meets international 

standards 

Junior Colleges expands with 

the acquisition of two nursery 

schools, Snuggles and 

Tiny Town 

Rosebank College celebrates 

its Diamond Jubilee 

Resourcing brands IT Edge, 

Tech-Pro Personnel and 

The Working Earth 

are acquired 

2014 

Rosebank College and College 

Campus are merged 

Construction of three schools: 

Trinityhouse Heritage Hill, 

Crawford Italia, 

Abbotts College Northcliff 

completed during 2013 

 

ADvTECH acquires Forbes 

Lever Baker (FLB) 

The Design School 

of Southern Africa 

is acquired (DSSA) 

Brian Buckham retires from 

the board after 23 years 

The first stage of 

implementation of SAM 

(System for Academic 

Management) 

2009 

2010 

The IIE’s director and registrar 

are each appointed to a 

statutory body under the 

remit of the Department of 

Education. Their appointment 

is a first for a private 

education provider. 

Abbotts College Johannesburg 

South opens 

 

An association is formed with 

the UK’s Open University, 

allowing students to obtain 

international qualifications 

Opening of Trinityhouse Little 

Falls and Varsity College 

Waterfall 


turns 40 

2013 

2012 

2011 

The IIE’s director is appointed 

as chair of the Accreditation 

Committee of the Higher 

Education Quality Committee 

(HEQC) 


Acquisition of Centurus 

Colleges (Pecanwood, 

Southdowns, Tyger Valley) 

2015 

Kathstan College 

is acquired 

Acquisition of Gaborone 

International School in 

Botswana, marking ADvTECH’s 

first step of expansion into 

other areas in Africa 

The IIE reinforces relations 

with the Open University to 

develop distance learning 

opportunities in Africa 

The 30th anniversary of 

ADvTECH’s listing 

on the JSE 

The Maravest Group is 

acquired: this includes the 

Maragon Private Schools and 

Charterhouse School 

 

Copperleaf College is 

opened in Centurion 

ADvTECH enters into a 51% 

partnership with the 

University of Africa 

The IIE launches IIEMarque, a 

qualification verification tool, 

the first of its kind in 

South Africa 

The resourcing division 

acquires a majority stake in 

CA Financial Appointments as 

well as in CA Global group: 

the latter includes Mauritiusbased 

Africa HR Solutions, 

opening up new markets 

in Africa 

Abbotts College introduces 

grade 8 and 9 

Founders Hill College opens 

in Modderfontein 

2016 

Trinityhouse Northriding 

is acquired 

Summit College in Kyalami 

is acquired 

The International Finance 

Corporation (IFC) 

invests R320 million 

(4% holding) in ADvTECH, 

demonstrating support 

for the group’s expansion 

into the rest of Africa 

Acquisition of Capsicum 

Culinary Studio 

Rosebank College Connected 

Campus opens in Polokwane, 

taking blended learning to 

the next level 

2017 

A 51% stake is acquired 

to partner with 


Opening of Rosebank College 

mega campus in 

Braamfontein, a model we are 

developing in other 

major centres 


THE HISTORY OF ADvTECH AT A GLANCE continued 

2017 continued 

Acquisition of 

Elkanah House Schools 

Glenwood House School 

is acquired 

Abbotts College introduced 

Grade 7 and 8 

ADvTECH acquires 

Greenwood Bay College 

in Plettenberg Bay 

Acquisition of 

MSA South Africa 

2019 

Crawford International School, 

Nairobi, Kenya, opens its doors 

The IIE is re-accredited by the 


(BAC) in the Independent 

Education Institution 

Accreditation scheme 

for the next four years 

Rebranding and repositioning 

of Summit College to Pinnacle 

Kyalami and Kathston College 

to Pinnacle Rynfield 

Acquired 80% of The Private 

Hotel School in Stellenbosch 

Brent Personnel merges 

with Cassel&Co and 

The Working Earth 


celebrates 20 years 

Launch of Pinnacle 

Colleges Brand 

Opening of Maragon 

Mooikloof High School 

2018 

ADvTECH announces 

a new academic 

management system 

New hospitality campus in 

Rosebank The Private Hotel 

School and Capsicum 

The Bridge Assisted Learning 

School opens in Beverley, 

Sandton 

ADvTECH enters into a 71% 

partnership with 

Scholé, Mauritius 

ADvTECH acquires 

Makini Schools in Nairobi 

and Kisumu, Kenya 

Two new Rosebank College 

Connected Campuses 

opened in Bloemfontein and 

Pietermaritzburg 

Vega and DSSA merge 


CSI PROJECT THEMES that direct our initiatives 

We encourage good corporate citizenship, work integrated learning and volunteerism 

among our students and employees. It is on this basis that all our citizenship and charitable 

activities are executed at brand level. 

emes 

irecting our initiatives 

Save the 

Rhino 

emes 

The themes directing our initiatives 

Teaching & 

training 

Land & 

greening 

Training programme 

Financial training for 

school management team 

Land & 

greening 

ODIS • Training at school level 

ENTREPRENEURSHIP ® 

ENVIRONMENT 0 

HEALTH 0 

TRAINING 

Staff 

Training programme 

Financial training for 

school management team 

Early Childhood 

Development 

ODIS • Training at school programmes level 

der-privileged 

Life Skill 

e CV & interview Life training Skills 

® ENTREPRENEURSnlP 

TRAINING 

HIV/AIDS 

der-privileged 

e CV & interview training 

® ENTREPRENEURSnlP 

e Financial training 

e Career development 

® ENTREPRENEURSHIP 

aff 

Life Skill 

Under-privileged 

Training: health, 

environment & 

employment 

e Financial training 

e Career development 

® ENTREPRENEURSHIP 

Special needs/ 

physically 

challenged 

EDUCATION 

First Aid 

®TRAINING 

®TRAINING 

ed 

ing: health, 

onment & 

loyment 

youth 

hysically 

allenged 

EDUCATION 

NTREPRENEURSHIP/ Management 

EMPLOYMENT 

EDUCATl0N 

Under-privileged youth 

Employment 

0 

LIFE SKILLS 

• Schools 

support • Teachers 

How to get a job • Students 

• Office 

EDUCATION® 

Physically 

challenged 

ENTREPRENEURSHIP/ Management 

EMPLOYMENT 

EDUCATl0N 

Experience 

• Men in the Making 

0 

LIFE SKILLS 

• Schools 

support • Teachers 

• Take a Girl Child to Work Day 

• Students 

• Office 

Experience 

• Take a Girl Child to Work Day 

TRAINING 

FUNDRAISING 

• Men in the Making 

NG 

FUNDRAISING 


61

ACRONYMS 

ADvTECH SPECIFIC 

General acronyms 

The following are terms that ADvTECH staff are likely to come across. 

APS – ADvTECH People Solutions 

BEE – Black Economic Empowerment 

CCMA – The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration 

CEO – Chief Executive Officer 

CPA – Consumer Protection Act 

CSI – Corporate Social Investment 

DSSA – Design School of Southern Africa 

EER – Employment Equity Return 

EXCO – Executive committee 

HESIO – H – Human Resources 

E – Employment Equity 

S – Skills and Development 

I – Investing in Employees 

O – Occupational Health and Safety 

HR – Human Resources 

ICT – Information and Communication Technology 

LDP – Leadership Development Programme 

MDP – Management Development Programme 

PAIA – Promotion of Access to Information Act (Act no 2 of 2000) 

POPI – Protection of Personal Information Act (sets conditions for what 

companies can do with information about their customers) 

RC – Rosebank College 

REMCOM – Remuneration Committee 

SAM – System for Academic Management 

SEO – Search Engine Optimisation 

SO – Support Office 

TBS – The Business School at Varsity College 

TSEC – Transformation, Social and Ethics Committee 

The IIE – The Independent Institute of Education 

VC – Varsity College 

Education Terms 

The following are acronyms used in the schools and tertiary education system. 

General terms 

ABET – Adult Basic Education and Training 

APPE – Association of Private Providers of Education 

APS – Advanced Progression Score system 

(to determine if credit will be given for prior learning) 

CACH – Central Applications Clearing House database 

(service offered by DHET) 

CAPS – Curriculum Assesment Policy Statements 

CHE – Council on Higher Education 

DBE – Department of Basic Education 

DHET – Department of Higher Education and Training 

DoE – Department of Education 

EYFS – Early Years Foundation Stage 

FET – Further Education and Training 

FT – Full-time 

GDE – Gauteng Department of Education 

HC – Higher certificate 

HELP – Higher Education Learning Programmes 

HEI – Higher Education Institutions 

HEQC – The Higher Education Quality Committee 

HEQSF – Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework 

IEB – Independent Examinations Board 

Jonti – Jobs on the Internet (talent management software) 

NQF – National Qualifications Framework 

NSA – National Skills Authority 

NSFAS – National Student Financial Aid Scheme 

PT – Part-time 

SACE – South African Council for Educators 

SAQA – South African Qualifications Authority 

SASCO – South African Students’ Congress 

SDL – Skills Development Levy 

SETA – Sector Education and Training Authority 

UMALUSI – Council for the Quality Assurance in General and 

Further Education and Training 

USAF – Universities South Africa 

The IIE 

BAC – British Accreditation Council 

BB – Black Board – learning management system (LMS) IIELearn 

CAT – Central Academic Team 

FTF – Face to Face learning 

IIEMarque – A qualification verification tool 

ITSU – Integrated Tertiary Systems Unit 

LMS – Learning Management System IIELearn 

PULSE – Annual quality assurance audits of tertiary campuses 

SME – Subject Matter Expert 

WIL – Work Integrated Learning 

For more info on acronyms please go to www.advtech.co.za. 


FRAUD AWARENESS 

6‘6” 

6‘0” 

5’6” 

5’0” 

4’6” 

FRAUD 

6‘6” 

6‘0” 

5’6” 

5’0” 

4’6” 

Report any fraud to: 

1. Direct Line Management 

2. Divisional Management 

3. Group Legal 

4. Internal Audit 

5. Ethics Hotline 

Should you wish to remain anonymous, please use the ethics hotline below. 

Contact Information: 

ethicshotline@advtech.co.za 08600 (FRAUD) (37283) 


Group Shared 

Services 

Why have GSS Function? 

Organisations that have successfully implemented this 

service delivery model have benefited by way of: 

Increased productivity 

Cost savings 

Greater degrees of flexibility 

Enhanced ability to make 

more informed decisions 

The elimination of duplicate processes and 

leveraging economies of skill and scale will 

be one of the primary drivers behind this 

transformation successfully delivering value 

to the business. 

Strategic intent 

Standardisation 

Simplification 

VISION 

Shared Services 

A trusted partner providing value adding 

services that enable our education and 

resourcing communities to focus on their core 

functions delivering the group strategic 

imperatives. 

Operational 

effectiveness 

Continually 

improving 

functional 

performance. 

STRATEGIC PILLARS 

Customer 

centricity 

Building 

relationships 

to maximise 

service 

experience. 

PRINCIPLES 

Cost 

efficiency 

Doing 

more with 

the same 

or less. 

Adoption 

Technology Enablement 

What we do 

Transactional Finance 

GOAL ROLE 

GOAL 

ROLE 

Billing 

To establish uniform procedures for invoicing individuals 

or companies for services, materials or supplies 

purchased from the ADvTECH Schools and maintain an 

accurate Accounts Receivable. 

Billings start the entire cycle at ADvTECH 

• All billings are initiated by this department, with other 

departments following through according area of 

finance affected. 

Focuses solely on billing. Aims to provide accurate accounts 

to customers for payment to be made. 

Provides support for Campus Bursars to carry through 

service to the parents. 

Get billing quality up to standard. Going forward to work 

off our STASY so parents can retrieve statements and logging 

queries via our source system. 

Accounts payable 

To make payments for schools that have transitioned over 

to our GSS Payroll, Properties and the Support Office. 

To have 95% of invoices paid on time. 

THE ACCOUNTS PAYABLE PROCESS 

A need 

arises 

Obtain 

quotation 

Submit 

to Bursar 

Create PO 

Principal 

reviews 

Receive 

invoice 

Receive 

goods/ 

services 

Issue PO 

Sage 

approval 

Submit to 

SharePoint 

GSS 

Reviews 

Update 

SharePoint 

Exception 

handling 

Record 

into Sage 

Schedule 

payment 

Load 

payment 

Release 

payment 


Payroll 

ROLE 

To process ADvTECH’s payroll centrally. 

(this is only payroll department in the 

Group except for divisions that are still 

being integrated into the central payroll as 

they were acquired recently). 

The payroll department currently pays 

an average of 8 000 employees 

and independent contractors. 

Collections 

GOAL ROLE 

ROLE ROLE 

Responsible for collections on all outstanding fee accounts, 

to ensure financial sustainability and continuous cashflow. 

Build positive relationships with both internal and external 

customers. 

Collections is the end phase of the process: to collect student 

fees after Billings have been processed. 

Reduce bad debt and ensure financial sustainability. 

Customer focused – providing an excellent service to the 

account payers. 

Cashbook 

Daily updates of all Cashbooks. 

Resolve queries from parents, campus bursars as well as 

ADvTECH management. 

A support function for Schools Division. 

Pre-Legal 

To minimise bad debt for the Group. 

Save on collection and legal costs for the various brands. 

Collect maximum overdue’s and not to just hand over 

accounts to external collectors. (This is for Tertiary and 

Schools Division.) 

Facilitate all of the overdue debt as well as external 

collections (Attorneys/Collection Agencies). 

Other responsibilities include: 

• Handing over debt not collectable in the pre-legal 

environment. 

• Managing all debt with the various agencies until the 

debt is settled and account returned to campus. 

APS 

ROLE 

ROLE 

Responsible for the optimal 

functioning of the ADvTALENT 

People Solution (APS) system – an 

integrated HR and Payroll system 

currently being used throughout 

ADvTECH. 

Responsible for ensuring the smooth 

running of HR Administration, Payroll 

Administration and ultimately 

payment of employees. 

Be the link between HR Admin and 

Payroll. 

APS provides services for the entire 

Group (not only those in GSS). 

Ensures the smooth running and 

maintenance of the 

HR/Payroll system. 

HR Admin 

To provide Employee Benefit and Payroll 

data capturing service to Schools 

Division and the Support Office. 

Audits and captures of engagements, 

terminations, employment changes, 

benefits, claims and timesheets into APS. 

Partners with Payroll to provide clients 

reports and statistics, to ensure accuracy 

of their payroll and benefits. 

Hosts employee files, manages leave 

queries and provides HR Admin training. 

Provides an all-in-one HR Admin solution 

to clients; swiftly appoints, accurately 

administrates and sympathetically 

terminates employees. 

Automates functions so that the end user 

is empowered to make quick decisions 

and ensure output is accurate within 

set Payroll deadlines. 


Tel +27 11 676 8000 

ADvTECH House, Inanda Greens, 54 Wierda Road West, Wierda Valley, Sandton, 2196 

www.advtech.co.za

All About ADvTECH

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