Silica

Boosts Employee Skills and Retention with Accessible Online Training

From humble beginnings more than two decades ago, Silica has grown to become one of South Africa’s leading business process outsourcing and technology companies. It uses specialist skills and innovative solutions to help wealth and investment managers across Sub-Saharan Africa, grow their businesses through easier investment accessibility.

While its employee satisfaction and retention were already high, Silica sought to develop its training and skills program further — helping it reset the standard for employee learning and career development in South Africa and beyond.

Challenge: Giving people the right skills today for the jobs of tomorrow

With strict South African qualification frameworks to abide by — compounded by the company’s progressive ethos towards learning — employee development was already well established at Silica through its Digital Learning Academy. But ever diligent to push its boundaries, the company wanted to shift the focus of its employee development away from academic qualifications to skills-based competencies more relevant to the modern workplace.

Sue and her L&D team needed a web-based solution that would help improve training adoption across the business in a cost-effective way. And most importantly, deliver a wide range of high-quality courses that would give employees greater opportunities to advance their careers, build skill sets, and open doors to future job roles.

Solution: A proven learning platform that puts employees in control

After evaluating other top online learning solutions, Sue and her team selected Udemy Business. “We chose Udemy Business because it gives us access to a wide range of quality courses — meaning no matter what skills people want to develop, there’s something for everyone,” says Sue. “We found it much easier to use than other online learning solutions and far more cost-effective, close to 20% savings annually, than what we had before.”

With a platform that’s accessible 24/7 and even available on mobile, Silica’s employees now have the power to design their training schedules around their busy lives. And because the platform offers a vast catalog of technical and soft skills courseware, people now find it easier to upskill beyond the scope of their current job requirements.

For example, as automation plays an increasingly important role in Silica’s technology offering to its clients, the need for developer, cloud engineering, and business analyst skills across the business is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. By offering existing employees the opportunity to upskill in these specific areas, the company now offers greater opportunities for growth, making it easier for people to advance their careers and achieve more senior roles. And they are.