Full Name: Johan Venter
Position: MD of Colliery Training College (CTC)
Main Activity of the Company: The provision of artisan and mining training for employers in the coal sector and for other employers in the broader economy
Date and Place of Birth: 1959, Witbank
Education: BA (Hons) (personnel psychology), University of South Africa (Unisa), 1991; MBL, Unisa, 1995
First Job: Assistant human resources officer
Career History Prior to Current Position: I fulfilled a number of general human resources roles with my previous employer, Highveld Steel. My last job there was manager: organisation development and training
Size of First Pay Packet: R220
First Job with Present Group: MD
Value of Assets under Your Control: More than R150-million
Number of People under Your Leadership: 130
Management Style: Consultative – up to a point
Personal Best Achievement: Seeing my children succeed, and my grandchildren grow up
Professional Best Achievement: Starting CTC’s journey as an online training provider on the first day of the lockdown – March 26 – up to selling the first online course a few weeks later and launching the Artisan 4.0™ brand. Still to be achieved: steering CTC through the Covid-19 crisis, which is seeing many of our clients not sending people for training
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: My father was a guiding light most of my life, and my wife is an anchor
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: The feedback that I get from learners that I have worked with over the past 30 years or so helped me grow in terms of my career – it affirmed that I was doing the right thing
Person You Would Most Like to Meet: Diana Laurillard, of the University of London – she can explain in about six words how people learn and how teachers should teach
Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: Bill Gates
Philosophy of Life: Give opportunities to others – this opens opportunities for yourself
Biggest Ever Opportunity: The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the changed requirements it brings to ordinary artisan training
Biggest Ever Disappointment: Seeing Highveld Steel not succeeding
Hope for the Future: End of Arrogance, Nepotism and Corruption
Favourite Reading: Winston Churchill – he is highly rated as a world leader, but he actually received the Nobel Prize for literature
Favourite TV Programme: The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon
Favourite Food/Drink: Braaivleis and Chardonnay
Favourite Music: Classical
Favourite Sport: Rugby
Favourite Website: futurelearn.com and ctctraining.org
Hobbies: Discovering new things to do with a computer using my limited skills
Car: Toyota Fortuner
Pets: Jack Russel
Miscellaneous Dislikes: Loudness and denying others an opportunity to have an opinion
Favourite Other South African Company: There are some sparkling innovators; if I should single one out, I would offend the others
Favourite Foreign Company: Samsung
Married: To Clara Stolz, since 1989
Children: Rudolf, 30
Clubs: None – I used to have a beer or two at the Witbank Golf Club, but that feels like decades ago