Record attendance at 2007 APSO Conference

The 2007 APSO Conference “The Race for Talent” was a phenomenal success and saw several firsts for the association. It was the first time that an APSO conference was held over just one day, and in JHB, and it proved to be a successful formula. Whilst the majority of delegates were from Gauteng, we had excellent representation from members from KZN, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and from Mpumalanga
and Polokwane.

APSO is very proud of achieving our maximum capacity of 400 delegates and this is definitely a sign that we’re doing things right. We sadly had to turn away many, many people in the last week who tried to book at the very last minute. Please remember, APSO works on a first come, first served policy and since we’re often limited in terms of numbers due to venue capacity & catering, we urge all members to book the minute they receive the marketing material to avoid disappointment.

In addition, this was the first time, in the history of the association, that a Black President was elected. We welcome Elias Monage as President and look forward to him shepherding APSO through the interesting legislative times ahead.

A fantastic line-up

The outgoing APSO President, Simon Ridge, opened the conference with a call to action for members and whilst he recapped on his term of office and the many changes that have been made in the association, he reminded members of the challenges lying ahead with impending legislation and the changing ‘rules of the game’. Simon urged all members to become more actively involved in APSO and, if they were unable to give of their time to sit on committees, to at least encourage others to join APSO and educate both candidates and clients. Only by our members being active, can our industry withstand the challenges that are coming and rise to be recognized as a professional industry.

Louis Fourie certainly set the scene by educating delegates about where South Africa is today in terms of health, wealth and security. Although some of the information was rather disturbing, on the whole, his presentation served to show what a fantastic country we live in and how many opportunities exist for those of us who choose to be part of the solution and not just whinge about the problems.

The motivational presentation by Vusi Thembekwayo went down a treat and it’s easy to see why he was voted one a top International speaker. His confident style and engaging personality certainly touched many in the audience.

As ever, Buhle Dlamini received exceptional applause at the conclusion of his multimedia presentation. He educated delegates on what it takes to “own the future” at this time in the history of South Africa and I’m certain that many of the delegates could relate to some of the issues he brought up.

Dr. Nick King had the task of sobering up the audience by highlighting the desperate need for every citizen of planet earth to take charge of their own time & space and work towards saving the planet. Although not directly related to the recruitment field, Dr. King’s presentation brought realization to many about the growing need to focus on the bigger picture rather than just on our own small lives. If each person just makes a couple of small, everyday changes, we can all effect a big change.

After lunch the delegates broke into two specialized sessions – one for consultants and the other for management. The consultants were treated to some entertaining yet educational topics including branding by Greg Fisher.

Mark Coetzee wowed the audience once again and had the consultant’s ready and raring to go with his booming voice, wise cracks and obvious passion for the recruitment industry. As always, he entertains and leaves delegates with lots of practical tips to go back and implement at their desks.

Consultants were also educated on the ways to improve their energy and vitality when Celynn Erasmus shared some tips on how to find an extra two hours in your day. Many of the consultants felt that she explained, simply & effectively, the easiest ways to change bad habits into smart choices and make the hectic life of a recruitment consultant less stressful on the mind & body.

As always, Robin Banks, got his audience up on the tables dancing and shouting. His motivational presentation, “Success is Choice” got rave reviews and we’re sure that all who attended felt re-charged by the end of the session.

The managers also had an interesting afternoon with the topic of Immigration being professionally addressed by specialist immigration attorney Julian Pokroy. He shared his knowledge and gave the audience some good advice on how best to utilize foreign skills and increase their ability to provide clients with scarce skills.

The panel discussion provided some insight into the current proposed legislation and Department of Labour representative, Dr. Florus Prinsloo, surprised everyone by distributing copies of the proposed changes to the Skills Development Act “Regulations with regards to Employment Services”. This draft legislation has gone out for comment but APSO members can rest assured that your association, via CAPES, has the matter in hand. CAPES has drafted an official response on the matter and this has been sent, via BUSA, to NEDLAC. For more information, and to peruse both documents, please visit the APSO website www.apso.co.za

International trainer, Barb Bruno, shared her secrets on how to “attract, hire, train and retain eagles” with the managers and from the furious note-taking I assume that many of the managers took her advice and implemented new hiring processes in their own businesses. From the sudden surge in bookings for the APSO workshop for managers, held by Barb the following Friday, we can only assume that she touched a nerve and that many managers realized the need for better systems in their own offices.

As always, our consummate professional MC, John Lloyd was on hand to ensure that proceedings went well from start to finish.

30th celebrations for APSO

The 30th Anniversary function, held later that evening, was a great success. Most delegates stayed on to celebrate and were treated to a command jazz performance by Jimi G. He was followed by stand-up comedian, Trevor Noah who had most people crying with laughter. The DJ played all the right music, judging by the full dance floor, and a great time was had by all.

Bev Jack presented the 2007 Founders Cup award to Simon Ridge for his contributions to APSO in his role as President since 2004. The tribute took the form of a multimedia presentation showcasing the successes that APSO has made under the leadership of Simon and the format of “this is your body” had the audience entertained throughout.

Thanks again to our generous sponsors

Once again, it is imperative that APSO thanks our generous sponsors, without whom, a conference as successful (and affordable to members) would not be possible. Our grateful thanks must go to:
The Star Workplace, Services SETA, PNet, Kroll Background Screening, Parallel Software, eMediaIT, MCI and SA Human Capital.

“Thank you for a brilliant conference. It was a privilege to attend.”

“What an awesome conference – I loved every minute of it! My consultants are raving about it and already want to know the dates for next year.”

“Thank You to your team for such a well presented and fun, yet informative conference. The combination of speakers was excellent, and the complete package of events well thought out.”

“In all the years of attending APSO conferences this will certainly be one I will remember! All the speakers I saw were nothing less than excellent with Robin Banks closing off proceedings on the consultant’s side, awesome!!!”