B-BBEE Funded Learnerships
EduPower is a Durban based skills academy that changes the lives of unemployed South African youth through B-BBEE sponsored learnership programmes EduPower programmes give funded learners real skills to build their careers, and provide win-win solutions for social transformation - truly delivering the intended outcome of B-BBEE investment.
B-BBEE's objective is to broaden the country's economic growth, eradicate poverty and accelerate job creation to build a stronger economy. A company's BEE Rating and the B-BBEE scorecard measure how far along a company is in achieving this.
A company can score additional BEE points by contributing 6% of payroll costs to skills development, predominantly on accredited programmes and with at least 0.3% of the spend allocated to learners with disabilities. Companies that achieve this and other skills development priorities can earn 25 valuable points towards their B-BBEE rating.
Tax incentives for businesses to support learnerships allow companies to claim a maximum tax deductible rebate of R60 000 per learner in a learnership, or R100 000 for people with disabilities.
EduPower facilitates B-BBEE points and tax incentives through learnership training and workplace experience and learners are hosted for 12 months at the company's state-of-the art skills academy in Mount Edgecombe, so disruption to businesses funding the learnerships is absolutely minimal.
The EduPower team offers an end-to-end service. They recruit, train and host learners and complete all the required paperwork with the different SETAs including the reporting required for the SARS tax rebate, and documentary evidence for the B-BBEE audit. In addition, they facilitate the correct demographics to maximise your B-BBEE splits as EduPower's facilities cater for people with disabilities. In fact, more than half of the learners that are enrolled for 2018 are mobility challenged.
Companies that invest their skills development money with EduPower are assured that their learners receive quality training and real skills they can use. The Academy's learners have the opportunity to earn while they learn, and through the programmes, they gain the confidence and skills they need to start their careers in the contact centre industry. Most learners who complete the learnership are offered an opportunity for longer term employment.
EduPower's learners spend approximately 30% of their time in the Academy's custom fitted classrooms, learning a range of skills including basic computer and life skills. The remaining 70% of their training takes place in EduPower's specially outfitted learning contact centre that accommodates up to 160 learners. In this nurturing and supportive environment, learners get real work experience across each of the diverse fields offered by the contact centre industry including:
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Quality Assurance (QA)
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Customer Care
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Lead Generation and Surveys
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Data Capture
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Retentions and
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Sales
At the end of the 12 month programme, EduPower's learners are eligible to receive a nationally recognised NQF 3 qualification. Their employability is significantly increased, with research showing that candidates who complete a learnership are three times more likely to be employed, and it is the Academy's oal to place every learner into full time employment.
For funding partners, this translates into an additional five points on their B-BBEE rating for absorption - but for the EduPower team, it is about giving the learners the best possible start to their working lives.