Altech achieves level 3 BBBEE contribution

Altech achieves level 3 BBBEE contribution :

JSE listed Allied Technologies Limited (Altech) was recently awarded a consolidated level 3 BBBEE verification status by an accredited verification agency. The company achieved a 110% procurement recognition level, 28.6% black ownership and 13.2% black female ownership, scoring maximum points in these areas. Altech was also rated 7th most empowered company in the ICT sector by the Financial Mail Empowerdex Top Empowered Companies in South Africa survey earlier this year.

As part of the Altron Group, Altech is the number one company on Skills Development – this was achieved through the success of the Altech Academy. Altech had been rated number 6 of the top empowered ICT companies. Altech is number 7 of the top companies that procure from black owned and empowered companies and the number 3 ICT company that procures from black empowered companies.

“Altech is committed to transformation and empowerment through skills enhancement, representative shareholding and widespread development of disadvantaged communities. We are very proud to have achieved our goal of a level 3 BBBEE rating ahead of our Altron Vision 2012 Transformation goals but this does not mean that we will rest on our laurels, there is much to be done in South Africa by way of education, training and job creation,” says Johan Klein, Altech Group Executive: HR and Industrial Relations.

The shortage of ICT skills in South Africa is a problem that Altech has tackled head-on with the establishment of the Altech Academy in 2007. The programme has ensured that over 160 Altech employees have graduated over the past two years with qualifications from diplomas to PhD’s.

“The academy has also been rolled out to Altech’s east African businesses, because although we are a South African based business, we also require the best skills for our global operations,” says Klein.

Altech contributes towards worthy CSI projects and has approved projects to the value of R5.4 million for the current financial year. The group has entered into a three year public-private partnership with Altron, Vodacom, the Gauteng Provincial Department of Health and Wits University Reproductive Health and HIV Research Unit to upgrade the Centre for Specialised Services situated in Hillbrow’s Health Precinct.

Another CSI partnership includes construction and maintenance of an IT and Resource Centre in KwaMashu, on the grounds of the teacher training centre. The centre is a three-way collaboration between the Department of Education, Altech UEC and Protec, a non profit organisation that takes children from previously disadvantage backgrounds and educates them in the areas of Math, Science, English and Life Orientation. They have approx 180 students each year from Grades 10 –
12. Altech UEC will build and furnish the centre, Protec will manage and run it for the next three years and the Department of Education will own and maintain it.

In line with its transformation goals, Altech also recently concluded a 25% plus one share empowerment transaction valued at R1,5 billion with Thebe Corporation and Identity Capital Partners through Altech Netstar. The deal included Altech Netstar Fleet Solutions, ComTech and 50% of Altech Netstar Traffic.

“Transformation is driven by the company’s top leadership – we do not merely pay lip service to our goals of upliftment and making a meaningful difference to the communities in which we operate. Transformation is a business imperative, the implementation of which will shape Altech’s future viability,” concludes Klein.