The Commercial Advancement Training Scheme (CATS) is an apprenticeship scheme providing dual training to both school leavers and employees who wish to further their professional careers. The scheme comprises some 21 member companies who employs the apprentices for two years. During this time the apprentices receive both practical and theoretical training.

The scheme has taken its novel skills improvement programme further by training employees in companies to mentor the CATS students work strengths. CATS students are placed and rotated in a company’s divisions and the mentorship training provides mentors with tools to better teach and guide the learners in the different fields, to ensure they gain maximum learning exposure in their placement areas and how to work with different types of apprentices.

Manica has been part of the training scheme since 2005 and has seen 46 apprentices undergo their two years onsite job training. Many of these CATS have been employed as permanent staff and some have risen in the ranks to supervisory and management level.

A number of Manica employees recently completed their mentorship training provided by CATS and the GIZ. The group of mentors were also assessed and certified to ensure that they were suitably qualified to take on the role of guiding and shaping the careers of the apprentices.

Well done to Gloudie Olivier, Elmar Spangenberg, Lucille van der Westhuizen, Ian Foster and Mark Dafel.