African Excellence Awards 2021

20 MEA MARKETS / African Excellence Awards 2021 , Jun21469 Having won both the above award and the accolade of the ‘Innovation Award for VR Training Solutions’ in 2021, Skillstrain has made itself a powerhouse of training resource provision. After the launch of its new site, born froma partnership with a US based company, theMANA project, its support of south Africanwomen in the fight against misogyny and the constant innovations that embolden its work have secured its place as a household name. Best EMS & Fire Safety Training Provider 2021 Skillstrain, an importer and distributor of specialised international publishers, represents and distributes specialised niche market prints of educational informative media. This includes Print, E-publications from IFSTA and FPP, Wiley, Pearson International, ATS online NFPA Cengage Jones and Bartlett Learning, and Elsvier Health Science, and has allowed it to grow an expansive library. ST, similarly, began an E-learning platform five years ago that has been experiencing exponential growth ever since, for fire and EMS personnel in particular, with material written by a prestigious professor, serving at large the emergency services, governmental officials and bodies, the public and private industry, private hospitals, and EMS colleges. This has had a consequence of its growth as a business as well as an information centre, able to provide the right resources to a myriad of different clients, and showcasing its particular focus on the latest trends and online courses in order to keep itself staunchly competitive. Furthermore, by keeping a finger on the pulse of its industry thusly, it has been able to offer the most prevalent and top-of-the- line training. This includes the virtual reality flame trainer unit from Australia, underwritten by exemplary minds from Darley USA, something that both meets the clean green mission statement of ST and is brilliantly technologically innovative; this option even sports portable VR with over 35 scenarios, contributing to saving many lives with the techniques it teaches. This has made ST the appointed master distributor of educational resources in Africa. Currently, it is in negotiations for further virtual reality solutions, pushing for an EMS focused one, as it has heard the demand for such a thing – this excellently shows its dedication to relating its customers to its research, identifying where training solutions are most needed and responding accordingly. It works with agility, focus, consistency, and reliability to be able to ensure this, and is an exceptional women-owned company working towards the betterment of the world with marketing from social media to webinars, supporting NGOs tirelessly. Moreover, in such a complex crucible as the South African Landscape, the country’s very political and male dominated social structure is still prevalent. ST has been an invaluable voice in pushing for this to change, shifting its clients and customers to e-publications and boasting over 1000 NFPS standard H&S and OSHA compliant courses, working with its partners and clients, especially the smaller training centres that are struggling due to Covid-19. ST’s founder – Linda Botha – is overseeing these current pushes, keeping teams motivated, and fostering her staff’s customer-first mindset in order to make this all possible. In essence, what ST is not, is a consultancy or a training company. It is the supporter and supplier of these companies, the backbone behind them that allows them to supply learners with exemplary training products that create the most well-rounded and well-prepared pupils. It will always negotiate until an offer is the very best for a client, only offering them the most outstanding solutions with the latest and most up to date editions, such as the MANA project, its most recent e-learning platform. Fundamentally, as it moves forward, it will be looking forward to making more of a difference, constantly innovating and upgrading itself and bringing more ingenuity empowered solutions to the table, such as more VR options that its clients should keep a keen eye out for. Company: SkillsTrain Distribution Contact: Linda Botha Website: skillstrain.co.za