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Payroll and Internships

In the past, careers in payroll were not planned.   We believe that is starting to change.

Formal education and training for payroll professionals has been a dream since I first managed a help desk back in the early 90s.   We were constantly dealing with operators and administrators who were perfectly proficient in the software they were using, but did not have a broader picture.

About 7 or 8 years, we started a Saturday morning Payroll Diploma class, but we quickly saw that our students were struggling to give up family time.

Cathie Webb (@CatiWeb), our Chief Operations Officer, decided to investigate eLearning.

We spent a very interesting day with a group of government education specialists hearing all about the potential and came away with a way forward.  Of course, Cathie and her team have spent long hours over the years developing, fine tuning, liaising with SETAs, SAQA, SARS and SGBs and generally ensuring that the course is aligned with both the law and educational requirements.

So where do the internships come in?   We had tried all sorts of ways to build a social investment program that mattered.

The onset of the qualification gave us the opportunity to offer our diploma to young people who could not afford tertiary education through traditional channels.   A "learn while you earn" concept.   Although they start on a stipend, there is an increase model based on module completion.

We have been so lucky with our Payroll Diploma interns.  Right now, we have 4 in our coastal branches and a mix of interns and graduates in our Sandton offices.   We are delighted with their progress and their work ethic.   They all add real value to the business and rotate in and out of departments gaining experience and skills along the way.   Some settle into one area of the business, while others continue to move around.

We are also so pleased that, once they have completed the qualification, there is a group that are continuing with further tertiary studies.   Graduates who have moved on to our clients and other companies are also doing extremely well, and that has made the whole exercise worthwhile for +Accsys (Pty) Ltd.

It has not been all plain sailing, but it has definitely added a new dimension to our business.   So if you are looking for an opportunity to learn and earn, or are a company trying to find ways to build a social responsibility program, we would be happy to discuss our option with you.


National Payroll Week - 30th June to 4th July, 2014


Links, References and Notes

Payroll Qualification


Note


Thank you for reading Teryl@Work.   Should you wish to use any of the material, please acknowledge this blog as the source

email:      tschroenn@accsys.co.za
twitter:   @TerylSchroenn

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