INDUSTRY NEWS
Masslift celebrates focus on youth development
The upskilling and development of South Africa’s youth is critical to ensuring economic growth and a prosperous future for the next generation. Masslift Africa is making an impact on unemployment by providing employment opportunities, skills development, and mentorship to the forklift industry’s next generation of professionals and artisans. In doing so, the firm has fostered a high level of talent retention – as evidenced by the feedback received from their younger employees. With the ever-increasing numbers in unemployment and the further shortage of trade specialists in South Africa, Masslift Africa has made investing in youth upskilling a key focus of its business strategy. “Without a doubt, companies like Masslift Africa need to invest in our youth and pave the way for the next generation of highly skilled specialists,” says Shaun Collins, Chief Operations Officer at Masslift. “We look at ourselves as a ‘young’ business. I was 28 when I was appointed as Sales Director and 38 when I was appointed as CEO. Our CFO was 33 when she was appointed into the position. The average age of our employees is 37, and the youngest is 23. Our youngest manager is 29. This makes 38
Lifting Africa - May/Jun 2021
us the custodians of the future careers that these individuals will have, and we take it very seriously. Growth is a central pillar of the Masslift organisational culture,” says Masslift Chief Executive Officer, Marco Caverni. This sentiment is shared by 24-year-old Marketing Coordinator, Palesa Matereke. “Often youth are faced with the challenge of finding an organisation that believes in potential and is willing to invest time and resources to grow that potential, however, Masslift provides that platform. Masslift uplifts me by presenting an opportunity for growth, learning, and becoming a better individual, both personally and professionally. In doing so, I am constantly uplifted by the organisation to become better, stand strong, gain knowledge, and succeed in carrying out the duties of my work title.” Masslift has fostered a culture that attracts millennials and Gen Z’s and incorporates inclusion, diversity and technical innovation with a strong focus on skills development and opportunities for growth. “The youth of today want to see
change and they want to be a part of something special. We are also flexible and always ready to implement change rather than stay stuck in the ‘old ways’ which is something the younger employees can be excited about. We recognise the fact that their tech savviness is an asset, and we encourage them to drive change and innovation. We have actually implemented a lot of innovative ideas that have been brought forward by young employees which have proven to be very effective,” Collins elaborates. This approach has a tangible and lifelong effect on some of the young employees who have been supported to create a solid foundation on which to build their careers. “Masslift has offered and continues to offer me chances to learn and grow my skills. In my role as a Junior accountant, I am exposed to the processes that lead to the preparation of the financial statements of the company which means I am able to put into practice the theoretical knowledge I acquired in my studies. The support and upliftment have not ended
