O&L Talent Attraction Program welcomes 2018 intake

WINDHOEK, Feb. 14 – The Ohlthaver & List (O&L) Group on Tuesday, 13 February 2018, welcomed ten participants to its Talent Attraction Program (TAP) for its 2018 intake. This now brings the total TAP participants to 83 since the program’s inception 11 years ago.

At the official welcoming of the new intake, O&L Group Director: Human Capital, Berthold Mukuahima emphasized the TAP program as a great success that has proven to be a critical part of the group’s purpose ‘Creating a future, enhancing life’ which speaks directly to one of the Group Values, ‘We Grow People’.

Mukuahima said,  “11 years later and the TAP program keeps growing stronger and has certainly become a very popular season of choice for hundreds of hopefuls annually. On an annual basis applications to the program increase and become more intense with a growing influx of hopeful and prospective participants. Education and a conducive learning environment is one of the focus areas of the O&L CSI portfolio, because we believe that investing in the youth and young adults, and contributing to inspiring, and equipping them with the tool of education is one of the key elements in a prosperous future for this nation.

“The TAP Program is linked to a Mentorship program that serves as a support tool for the program participants. Each Mentor will be responsible for motivating, advising and guiding each participant to achieve their career and development objectives. In simple terms, the mentor is expected to hold the hand of the mentee as he/she goes through the program,” he added.
Mukuahima further stressed that the O&L Group attaches a high price tag on talent attraction and talent development, and through this, nurtures the participants into future business leaders.

The Program has been very successful during the past years with a high retention rate. He added that some of the current O&L senior leadership team members are former TAP participants, which according to Mukuahima is what makes this program special – that the participants have the opportunity to build careers within the group.
One such former TAP participant is Saara Kapiye who has been admitted to the TAP program seven years ago, and now holds the position of Human Resources Manager at one of O&L’s subsidiaries, Broll Namibia.

Kapiye made use of the opportunity to share her experience with the new intake.

“This journey is about making full use of the opportunity to not only grow yourself in your career, but also as a person. At first I was anxious and uncertain, but very excited about the opportunities that awaited me on this journey. Look at me, seven years later I am the HR Manager of a property development company. Don’t take this opportunity for granted. It is about what you make of it at the end of the day. The O&L Values are a great tool to guide and grow you going forward. I wish you all the best as you embark on this new journey!” Said Kapiye.

Mukuahima further stressed that the TAP Program has grown and developed into a significantly powerful tool in building its participants and grooming them to become experts in their respective fields of study. It has become a significant reflection of the O&L Group vision of ‘being the most progressive and inspiring company’.
Most of the 2018 TAP intake started their one-year journey on the program on the 1st of February, while some started earlier in the year. Mukuahima: “The O&L TAP program is not only about developing and grooming its participants into sharp leaders and members of the O&L Group, but it is also about growing leaders for the country.”

The 2018 TAP intake are as follows:
Mberimuna Katurota Procurement Namibia Dairies
Paavo Uutako Procurement Namibia Breweries
Wallace Endley Packaging Namibia Breweries
Wade Visagie Finance Namibia Breweries
Henri Laurie Finance Namibia Breweries
Amore Meyer Food & Beverage O&L Leisure
Gerson-Tangeni Varela Chef O&L Leisure
Bianca Fourie Chef O&L Leisure
Morne van der Merwe Human Capital O&L Leisure
Daniel Nikodemus Finance O&L Leisure

The Talent Attraction Programme (TAP) focuses on attracting and retaining dynamic Namibian graduates who display the passion and potential to be developed into future Leaders of the O&L Group. The programme will focus on recruiting high-flyers who can be fast-tracked to develop into positions that are essential for the long term sustainability and strategy of the company. The successfully implemented Talent Attraction Program was introduced in 2008 and so far more than 70 Namibian graduates have completed the program. Among others, candidates from the designated groups are represented in the program.
The objectives of the Talent Attraction Programme are:
• To ensure valuable on-the-job, internal and external development and work experience to enable the TAP employees to become competent and self-driven in their careers;
• To ensure the TAP employees experience a sense of belonging to the O&L Group;
• To ensure job security and employee retention, and
• To ensure that TAP employees are exposed to value adding projects within the Operating Companies. – NDN Staffer