On 23rd May 2017 the inaugural TULA graduation ceremony for young leaders in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)/ Contact Centre sector will take place in Cape Town.

The ceremony will be attended by Cape Town Executive Mayor Patricia de Lille who will also award the graduation certificates to the students. 59 students from 4 companies have attended the TULA leadership course over the past 18 months. TULA Founder and CEO, Gareth Pritchard, explained the relevance of the new leadership programme: “TULA works with OnTrac , an Indian based training and consulting company. The programme aims to give students the tools to develop their leadership skills and improve their respective company’s operational efficiency. More than 60,000 students worldwide have participated in the programme. The programme is unique in that it is able to measure the impact of learning activities against each company’s individual business goals.” 

Executive Mayor Patricia de Lille commended the students who had taken part in the programme: “I would like to congratulate each and every student who successfully completed their course and graduated in the first graduation ceremony of the TULA leadership programme. The BPO / Contact Centre sector is contributing significantly to the development of our economy, with over 4,500 new jobs created in the last year alone. This growth will only continue if we ensure that our leaders are equipped with globally recognised skills.” 

Lufthansa InTouch was one of the participating companies. Their Site Operations Manager, Ian Ohlson commented: “Not only does this program unleash the individual’s leadership potential, it also works towards achieving your organisational goals by allowing employees to take control and influence the bottom-line through individual and group work.”  

Capfin Business Operations Manager, Jacques Loubser agreed: “We see such a positive shift in team and individual performance, purely because the learnings imparted during the leadership programme speak to the cornerstones that make up a successful contact centre and in turn our people are able to positively influence the customer value proposition.” 

Leading global customer experience and business process outsourcing company, Webhelp, who employs over four thousand people in South Africa, also participated in the programme. Chief operating officer for South Africa, Simon Garabette, commented: “The quality and expertise of our people are extremely important to Webhelp. Our people are our biggest asset and it is crucial for us to be able to offer our best people rewarding and meaningful careers. Engaging in training of this nature highlights our commitment to developing our people, which benefits them and our clients through the enhanced levels of customer experience we can deliver to their customers.” 

EXL Service is a global provider of decision analytics, operations management, outsourcing, business transformation and IT services. Their country head, Pratap Rao, welcomed the invitation to participate in the programme: “As we continue to grow our teams and to solidify our presence in the industry, the TULA program played a huge role in not just helping the participants understand the importance of building winning teams, but how to build them as well. I can see a program like TULA becoming integral to growth in this industry in any geography. 

TULA has also formed a partnership with the Zoe Incubation Centre in Delft to help establish a skills pipeline in Delft to enable access for township communities into the contact centre sector. 7 of Zoe’s students will also be present at the graduation ceremony. 

The graduation ceremony will be held on 23rd May at 14:00 in Cape Town’s entrepreneurial hub, Workshop17, at the V & A Waterfront where TULA has its offices.    

TULA provides consulting services and training in the area of Operations Management for the Contact Centre / BPO sector.  CEO and founder is Gareth Pritchard

email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; cell: 0837030822; website www.tulasa.co.za; Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garethmpritchard Twitter @BPESACT   

The College of Magic, Cape Town’s only magical arts organisation, honoured its graduating 2016 class and exemplary students in a dazzling ceremony held at Rondebosch Boys’ High School on Saturday 19 November, 2016.

The College of Magic, now in its 36th year, is the only organisation of its kind in the world and offers a six year on campus diploma that covers all aspects of the magic theatrical performing arts. Following six years of learning the mysteries of magic, including how to entertain audiences around the world and meeting internationally renowned performers, 17 teenagers from across the Mother City, finally bid farewell to their magical studies at the glittering Senior Graduation event.

The 2016 Course Six class has been fortunate enough to be a part of a very successful year for the College – one that has included spectacular gala shows like the Imagine! Family Spectacular at the Artscape Theatre in May, sold-out public performances, a week-long Spellbound Show at the V&A Waterfront in October and incredible trips to international magic conventions.

For 2016 Senior Student of the Year, Qaqambile Mnqika (15), from Khayelitsha, who represented the College and South Africa at the Magic Live Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada in August, it’s been a whirlwind of fantastic moments:

“What a great journey…phew! Studying magic has introduced me to a world of possibilities and the belief that with magic, I can do anything I set my mind and wand to. Thank you to the College of Magic! ”

This year’s Silver Medallion award winner is Aaron Simon (18) from Plumstead. The Silver Medallion is the highest accolade awarded to a graduate of the College of Magic who has perfected his craft to an excellent level of performance.

“I can hardly believe it! It is such a huge honour to be recognised for my magical craft with a Silver Medallion,” said the excited teen.

Each year, the College also honours staff, students and graduates for long service, community service and excellence in magic theatrical performance and its allied arts. The 2016 honourees included Odwa Bauti, Grant Best, Xolile Dyani, Olwethu Dyantyi,Jamian Fortune, Vuyolwethu Foslara, Anela Gazi, Caitlin Hutchison, Faris Jacobs, Mpumelelo Makeleni, Nokutenda Masiyanise, Sonwabile Mekuto, Qaqambile Mnqika, Zaakia Mohammed, Siyamthanda Mzangwa, Siphesihle Ndayi, Tamarin Philpott, Duncan Shelver, Aaron Simon, Yonela Sipoko, Grant Staniland, Hayley Tomes, Seshen Thaver, Yonela Toni, Ian Van Niekerk and Fazielah Williams.

In addition to the Senior Graduation, the College of Magic hosted a junior ceremony for its younger students who are progressing to the next captivating level of their wizardry training. Exemplary honours were awarded to 13 year-old Sesona Gagana as 2016 Junior Student of the Year.

Registration for the College of Magic’s entry level Course One for aspiring Harry Potters is now open. Course One will commence on Saturday 28 January, 2017 and fees are R490 per month or R2 700 for the entire course (Includes lessons, notes, magical equipment and allied arts such as puppetry, juggling and mime and clowning sessions.)

For more information, please visit www.collegeofmagic.com or call +27(0)21 683 5480.