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MiRO attains Level 4 BBBEE status

MiRO’s recent certification as a Level 4 BBBEE contributor in the ICT sector is the culmination of many years of planning and implementing programmes that form part of a strategic growth initiative.

Bertus van Jaarsveld, CEO of MiRO, explains that while the company officially received its current compliance certification on 1 June 2016, the process of achieving this status began many years ago. “Not only have we embarked on a number of projects that have seen the upskilling of employees and previously unemployed citizens alike, but we have fulfilled the requirements of the BBBEE Act in other ways.”

Additional impetus was added to the acquisition of the Level 4 BBBEE status when MiRO became part of the Hudaco group of companies on 1 May 2016. With the exception of DD Power, in which Deutz AG has a 30% share, all Hudaco businesses are 15% owned directly by BEE shareholders.

MiRO’s fourfold BEE programme includes socio-economic contributions in the form of compensation of the school fees of PDI staff members’ children by the company. Interestingly, some of these children are now about to enter tertiary learning facilities. Employment equity is provided for through the employment, wherever possible, of individuals from PDI communities. Van Jaarsveld points out that the company has always addressed this issue in line with the population figures and achieved a 100% rating in the preferential employment section of the certification process.

With regard to enterprise development, a number of schemes are in place including the issuance of discounts to SME suppliers, more extensive onsite support to assist these suppliers in becoming fully functional, and more recently, the launch of various programmes to assist SME customers.

The company’s skills development initiative kicked off in 2015 and is now well under way. In the first phase of this programme, 10 PDI women were selected to participate in a year-long learnership programme. “In this pilot project we identified three disabled ladies, four previously unemployed ladies who were retained on a learnership contract, and three existing employees. At the end of the initial learning period, we evaluate the students and select six of the students for permanent employment. In instances where they are not employed by MiRO, we introduce them to other avenues of employment in the marketplace,” says Suzette Esterhuizen, HR manager at MiRO.

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