ARNOLD WERBELOFF It’s no good saying we’ll just take everyone else’s qualified people because that just doesn’t help
Financial services provider Vunani Securities, a subsidiary of Vunani Group, paid homage to the 23 equity analyst alumni who received training and mentorship through its Vunani Securities Training Academy (VSTA) initiative at a gala dinner in Sandton last month.
The event also coincided with the launch of the book The Vunani Securities Training Academy: Our Journey from 2004, which cele- brates the professional success and growth of the alumni, several of whom are highly ranked in national and international surveys.
Notably, VSTA alumni include financial institution First Avenue Investment Management equity analyst Dhersan Chetty, who was ranked the top emerging market healthcare equity analyst in financial magazine Institutional Investor’s 2012 global survey. He was also rated South Africa’s best analyst across all sectors in investment studies organi- sation Extel’s 2014 global survey.
VSTA alumni accredited much of their professional success to the mentorship and personal touch of Vunani Securities senior equity analyst and VSTA head Arnold Werbeloff.
In an interview ahead of the celebrations, Vunani CEO Ethan Dube and Vunani Secu- rities CEO Johan Rossouw confirmed that, in addition to the technical quality of the training programme, the success and quality of VSTA was attributed to Werbeloff’s dedication and passion for mentorship, as well as his attention to the needs of individual trainees.
VSTA was started in 2004 to address the shortage of qualified equities analysts in the South African financial services sector. The initiative identifies talented postgraduates from historically disadvantaged communities and provides two candidates with technical and experiential training and mentorship over a 12-month period.
“It is one thing to be academically proficient; it is another thing to actually make a contribution in the workplace and that, in my view, is one of the key achievements of this programme,” Rossouw asserted.
Werbeloff highlighted the importance of companies providing skills development and training to address the skills shortage in South Africa. “It’s no good saying we’ll just take everyone else’s qualified people because that just doesn’t help. You can maybe get away with that in a developed country, but in this country . . . you have to develop people.”