At ADvTECH Resourcing we continue our strong commitment to BEE. In 2008, Financial Mail's 'Top 200 Empowerment Companies' rated ADvTECH in 75th position. Our new Empowerdex Scorecard rating improved to a B Level 7 rating in May, 2008.
During 2006 ADvTECH Limited employed 213 SETA accredited black learners which is approximately 11% of the total ADvTECH workforce.
With BEE partnerships through Kapele Appointments (incorporating Inkokheli Appointments, Vertex-Kapele and the Working Earth), SETA accredited Learnerships (SETA Accredited Training Initiative: R5 million spent = 2.56% of total payroll), Education Bursaries (R29 million in 2005 which equates to 48.36% of profit after tax), and a Procurement BEE spend of R19 232 464, plus the adoption of the BEE Bill and Balanced Scorecard, the group has displayed a solid commitment towards empowerment.
The release of the BEE Codes of Good Practice on 1 November 2005, by the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) has gone a long way towards clarifying confusion regarding compliance to the legislative requirements of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE).
As government has increasingly tightened the screws on industries and companies that are deemed to be lagging behind in implementing provisions of the BEE codes of good practice, it has become blatantly necessary for more clarity on regulatory compliance.
The code 100 shows that careful thought was given to broad-based ownership schemes indicating structures such as employee owned trusts which are significant routes to address ownership into the future.
The codes are likely to have a far-reaching impact in giving clarity on how companies can comply with this piece of legislation.
Hopefully many of the misconceptions in regard to the interpretation of the Codes will also be laid to rest as many people are still placing over-emphasis on ownership when it only constitutes a percentage of the overall strategy.
The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act and A Guide to Interpreting the First Phase of the Codes can be downloaded from the following website: http://www.b1sa.co.za