JSE-listed food products company Tiger Brands has improved its broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) score to Level 2 in 2021 following improvements in several areas across the business, including skills development for unemployed individuals, management control at the board and executive directors level and scoring maximum points available in the enterprise and supplier development category.

“Our BBBEE rating improvement year-on-year is the result of a deliberate drive to focus on all elements of the scorecard, and places Tiger Brands well on track, as a proudly South African company, to lead transformation in our industry in the coming years," says chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer Mary-Jane Morifi.

During the 2020/21 financial year, Tiger Brands embarked on a drive to provide essential skills training to at least 250 seasonal workers during the off-season. This has allowed the company to grow its talent pool and offer future career opportunities to these individuals.

The Covid-19 pandemic created unexpected challenges for many things work-related, not least skills development, which came to an abrupt halt when the first lockdown and subsequent restrictions on movement were implemented in 2020.

The transition from classroom or on-the-job training involved an intensive process of digitisation by Tiger Brands as training that was normally facilitated face-to-face was moved to online platforms. Tiger Brands improved and implemented digital infrastructure at its sites across the country, the company adds.

“Our transformation journey has yielded significant strides from Level 7 in 2018 to Level 2 in only three years. This is a reflection of our continued commitment to ensure that true transformation is at the heart of everything we do,” adds BBBEE and social transformation manager Preeya Naidu.