108 RSSC Managers Graduate in Leadership Skills

To ensure sustainable development, the Royal Swaziland Sugar Corporation (RSSC) has engaged senior staffs in skills development as it intends to lower its production cost by 2020

This was through a programme known as Leadership Academy, which the sugar producing company initiated last year. A total of 108 senior staff members graduated with certificates in leadership, a programme which was provided by the University of Stellenbosch Business School, Executive Development last Friday. Speaking during the graduation ceremony, RSSC Managing Director Nick Jackson stated that the programme was meant at driving the company’s leadership skills development agenda which is critical for the delivery of its low cost strategy, ‘Simama 20-20’ and high value strategy. He noted the realisation that under this unstable economic environment, it would be critical to have leaders that will drive unit cost reduction and ensure the sustainability of organisations into the uncertain future. He said the company therefore believed that in developing leaders, it would be creating the leverage that is required to achieve its corporate strategy and improve operational efficiency.

The senior staff members were engaged in three programmes which were provided within the period of last year. These programmes were; New Management Development Programme, Managers Development Programme and Senior Managers Development Programme.

Jackson urged the graduating employees to keep advancing their knowledge for them to be able to lead the company to greater heights.

He pointed out that the business sector keeps on advancing and getting complicated, hence the need for leaders to be always ahead with knowledge. He further urged them to help those they are leading to also grow in terms of knowledge. Moreover, Jackson implored the senior employees not to shy away from sacrificing. He stated that sacrifice will always be important in the leadership journey. He noted that such a factor has been evident during the programme as the workers had to sacrifice with time to acquire the knowledge. “Be leaders that are anchored on values, as such values serves as the compass that continuously point to your North; a leader without integrity can never sustain his success and without respect for self and others it will be almost impossible to deliver on your goals and those of your organisation,” he said.