Direct insurer MiWay has offered to assist INSETA, the insurance industry education and training authority, to develop skills in the sector and provide employment. During 2011 MiWay is running 42 learnerships and 20 internships, each lasting approximately a year.
“We made contact with INSETA to find out what happens to learners after they complete their training,” says MiWay Training Specialist Shabeer Bux. “Most learners battle to find employment in the industry to get the necessary work experience. We saw an opportunity to help reduce unemployment and contribute to the National Skills Development Strategy by giving the learners a chance to use their newly acquired knowledge in the workplace.”
“Some of these learners might not have been able to find a placement in a working environment so soon after qualifying,” says Bux. “We realised that we could not only provide opportunities for them to broaden their scope, but also lead by example and show other companies out there that developing and maintaining a successful learnership and internship program is not an impossible task, and has long-term benefits.”
Bux says that so far, almost all MiWay’s former learners and interns have found permanent employment with the company. “We aim to help give support to well-rounded individuals who will be able to work with us for many years to come,” he says. “Even if learners gain employment elsewhere, MiWay remains proud to have met our socio-economic responsibility as a proudly South African company.”
MiWay’s new learners and interns receive an initial one month of training, following which they gain work experience in the sales environment, client services and claims departments, as well as in quality assurance.
