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PRESS RELEASE Johannesburg, 14 August 2008 - The Kelly Group has acquired leading ICT skills development and training solutions specialist Torque IT for a price not exceeding R37.85 million in a move designed to strengthen its presence in the high-growth IT outsourcing and permanent placement sectors. Torque IT provides high-level technical training services to blue chip corporates and the public sector on Cisco, Microsoft, VMware, Novell, Sun and other major systems through its wholly owned subsidiary Torque Technical Training. Its other business Torque Career Campus, one of the first providers to be accredited by the Isett Seta, offers customised training services to school-leavers seeking employment in the ICT industry. Torque IT is the leading training solutions provider in Sub-Saharan Africa, offering end-to-end solutions to clients in 24 countries across the region. In addition, a recent partnership between Cisco and Torque IT has enabled the company to offer a specialised programme in India. Franchise operations in Kenya and Angola are operated under its third division, namely, Torque Africa. Kelly Group chief executive Grenville Wilson said the group had identified the ICT sector as a target market and the acquisition of Torque IT would support its growth objectives in this sector, among other things by providing it with a source of potential candidates that are honed by the Torque Career Campus through learnerships and/or internships. It would also complement a new ICT division created by the group’s flagship brand Kelly. “The acquisition also brings with it a strong management team and, as Torque IT is 55% black-owned, will further enhance the Kelly Group’s already high BEE rating. In addition, there are key customer overlaps which offer synergistic opportunities,” Wilson said. Torque IT chief executive Mthunzi Mdwaba said the company’s acquisition by the Kelly Group would have major benefits for all stakeholders including its staff, its diverse portfolio of clients, its partners and the community. “Torque IT is the biggest ICT skills factory in Sub-Saharan Africa and we could not have asked for a better home than the Kelly Group, given the company’s focus on human capital development,” he said. “The marriage will greatly enhance our joint ability to unlock potential and promote skills development in the skills-starved ICT sector. ICT plays a crucial role in the smooth running of any business and we hope to use skills development in this sector as a tool to help drive transformation in our country.” Mdwaba is also one of the vice presidents of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) and the outgoing chairman of its transformation policy committee. For further information call Mthunzi Mdwaba, CEO Torque IT, Ends About Torque IT Torque IT, a 66% black-owned business, is made up of 3 divisions viz, Torque Technical Training, Torque Career Campus, and Torque Education Resources. As a specialist in education, Torque IT provides high-level technical and user training through Torque Technical Training, one of the largest Cisco Learning Solutions Partner (CLSP) in the emerging markets worldwide. Torque IT currently has branches in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban, Nairobi (Kenya) and Luanda (Angola), and provides training in over 22 countries in Africa through the Torque Education Resources division. Torque Technical Training is also a Microsoft Gold Partner (Learning Solutions), an Authorised SUN Education Centre, a Novell Gold Training Partner, a VMWare Authorised Training Centre and a CompTIA Gold Partner. Torque’s largest clientele concentration is 65-70% corporate, with blue chip clients in its top 20 including clients from verticals as disparate as the ICT sector, telecommunications, food & beverage and financial. Torque Career Campus provides customised training to school-leavers seeking skills in the ICT industry, with a specialist focus on Learnerships. For more information contact: |