| Exponant scores high on B-BBEE Rating |
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| Exponant is rated at a Level 3 Compliancy on the new B-BBEE Code of Good Practice. The rating was done by the verification agency SERA and completed in December 2007. This means that any client procuring solutions or services from Exponant, will receive credit for 110% of all the business it does with the company. |
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| Exponant, one of South Africa's premier Information Technology and Telecommunications (ICT) consultancies has praised the government's Code of Good Practice and suggested that the architects of the policy document be nominated for a Nobel Prize. |
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| "For the first time we have a Code of Good Practice that is both attainable and will benefit the country's growth and we at Exponant have embraced it with both arms. |
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| Exponant CEO Marius Pels said he and his colleagues on the Exponant board were over the moon with the new Code. |
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| "In many instances we have exceeded the requirements while in other we are just about there," Pels said. |
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| He said the previous code was far too narrow in that it promoted single black persons to benefit instead of the broadly based community. Some of the previous requirements were also simply unachievable, causing companies to ignore the whole section. |
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| Exponant has recently bought out its former BEE partner and placed that equity in a trust for the company's black workers, Pels said. |
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| "This way many black workers who
have all helped to bring Exponant to
where we are today stand to benefit
instead of just a single individual who
is probably already very well off." |
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| He said the previous requirements for training and skills development which was supposed to be five percent of a company's total salary bill was totally unachievable and hence the fact that many companies didn't even try to comply. |
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| "Now with broadly based BEE the
requirements are imminently more
reasonable and practical." |
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| In order to comply as fully as possible at this stage, Exponant has appointed two black women to its board which Pels said was like bringing in a
"breath of fresh air". |
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| "The all male days of the old school tie network are over. For us it is a privilege to have these new female directors on our board who will bring their own unique perspectives to the boardroom," Pels said. |
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| The Exponant board is now 60% black and 40% female which more than complies with the Code of Good Practice.
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| On the subject of management Exponant faces the same problem that many South African corporates face: Once they have trained a candidate up to management level, they either resign to start up a business on their own or they get poached by other companies in the same field. |
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| "Despite this problem, about 30% of our total staffing compliment are BEE-compliant," Pels said. |
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| Exponant has always excelled at enterprise development and has assisted numerous black entrepreneurs with both cash and expertise to set up in business for themselves, he said. |
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| Pels welcomed the new category of learnerships that are entailed in the Code and said they would go a long way towards alleviating the skills shortage. It causes new entrants into the market, in stead of only upskilling those that are already there. |
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| On the subject of preferential procurement, he said his company had always attempted to place their business with compliant companies. Under the new Code this category has been enlarged due to the fact that companies with a turnover of under R5-million were automatically BEE compliant. |
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| On the subject of social development Exponant has always been deeply involved in the community but was never able to achieve the targets set in the old Code. Under the new code the targets are not only achievable but the company exceeds the requirements. |
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| Exponant recently graduated a number of programmers from its in-house programming course. Among them was a black worker who had worked for Pels in his garden. He ended up near the top of the class. |
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| For more information, please contact Marius Pels at the office on 012 663 0100 or browse www.exponant.com |
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