1 November 2007

The Altech Academy becomes a reality:

After months of meticulous planning an educational institution is about to take shape which will provide skills development for Altech’s most precious resource: its people. The Altech Academy is to be officially launched in early November and will provide the employees of Altech with the chance to further their education and enhance their skills.

All courses and degrees that will be offered through the Academy will be fully accredited and allow prospective pupils to obtain qualifications in a diverse range of subjects. Courses available will cover the full spectrum of business education, from engineering to strategic account management to leadership development to technical expertise. In the Altech Academy pupils are even able to take their knowledge to the highest possible levels, with the prospect of obtaining an MBA or even a PHD degree.

Initially, the Academy will be administered through the Da Vinci Institute For Technology Management which is a higher education institute focusing on post graduate business management studies. The Da Vinci Institute is under the astute leadership of its chairman, Prof. Roy Marcus, who believes that “Technology creates a marketplace advantage, and that we have to investigate how this advantage can be used to benefit a company, its stakeholders, and the economy at large”.

For more specialised development programs the Academy will also form partnerships with other institutions and universities. Johan Klein, Altech’s head of Human Resources, believes that eventually the Academy will be able to in-source the full administration but for the interim it’s necessary to have these partnerships in place with external organizations. He also stipulates that all the educational and administrative costs associated with the Academy will be covered by Altech and its operating companies and not the individual pupils. This is because an investment is being made by Altech in its employees that will allow them to add more value to themselves, and ultimately to Altech as well.

The vision of the Altech Academy is to position Altech for greater success through its technology, innovation, and its people. It will be committed to meeting the organizational and the individual development needs through a range of educational products. These learning programmes will be integrated, available to all employees, and designed around both Altech and the individual’s needs.