SGS Academy for the Community

The aim of this pro bono initiative is to support local economic development by enhancing access to and quality of employment. The training is provided free of charge to participants who would not otherwise be able to afford it.

In 2019, SGS Academy for the Community began supporting projects around the world that will continue in 2020:

• In Chile, we are working with 30 students in their last year of high school at the Colegio Comercial Peñaflor, which is located in an area suffering from high levels of drug and alcohol abuse and teenage pregnancy, and has a large number of school dropouts. Each student receives 160 hours of business training in the classroom in subjects such as quality, environmental responsibility and health and safety management systems; leadership and coaching; and enhancing processes using Lean Six Sigma. The students are also offered a one to three month internship at one of our client’s projects.
• In Taiwan, we are providing training for 110 people who have experienced difficulty in achieving gainful employment for a variety of reasons. They are all taught a module on microfinance management concepts. Participants receive between 15 and 102 hours of training, either online or face to face, depending on the course taken. Additional courses include:
  • E-commerce and marketing skills: delivered to 10 people with physical disabilities
  • Environmental rehabilitation and eco-tour guiding: for 20 unemployed people
  • Ecological agriculture: for 20 low income organic farmers
  • Elderly care and community service: delivered to people living in poverty
  • Handicraft skills: delivered to people living in poverty
  The organizations involved in the project will hire a portion of the participants and refer the rest to other potential employers.
• In South Africa, the Department of Education has identified a shortage of food safety skills in the catering industry. We are working with the YES (Youth Employment Service) program to teach these essential skills to 24 unemployed young people from the Rosslyn/Soshanguve area, a multi-ethnic region. We have developed a training program which covers topics such as food safety, environmental monitoring, food hygiene and food safety management systems. Each participant will receive 200 hours of face to face training and eLearning, plus, potentially, practical training during an eight week salaried internship with a major food company.
• Working with the Heart for India Foundation, we are providing 115 young women in India living below the poverty line with essential training for jobs in the healthcare and education sectors. During the 6 to 12-month course, students receive classroom-style teaching and a salaried work placement in their chosen field.

SGS Academy for the Community in India