PaySpace announced today that it is inviting all payroll and HR professionals that are unemployed or have been retrenched during the COVID-19 pandemic to become a ‘Payroll and HR Software Hero’, by completing a free, 10-day course of virtual training on the company’s software.
Many payroll and HR experts have lost their jobs in 2020 amid the chaos that Covid-19 has brought on. It is therefore imperative for these specialists, now at the mercy of the job market, to future-proof their careers, the organisation says in their announcement.
Chantal Butner, Head of Learning and Education at PaySpace, a leader in cloud-based payroll and human capital management software, says: “At PaySpace we are constantly looking for top talent, and we believe in investing in people to empower them in their own careers. In recent months, we have noticed an increased number of individuals that are now unemployed, as they were retrenched during this unprecedented time.
Businesses across the board have been under immense financial pressure and many have had to close their doors or retrench staff in order to survive. It’s been a real eye-opener, to see the number of skilled professionals in the workforce that are no longer employed.”
Course content and benefits
Payspace says on their website that the company operates in over 40 African countries, with over six thousand customers in and sixty-five industries.
“Successful applicants will learn the full spectrum of payroll processing on PaySpace’s solution. They will also learn the configuration of company parameters according to various customised requirements, setting up a new company on the system, as well as understanding and defining security roles.
This training will upskill participants to not only qualify for PaySpace specialist positions in in-house payroll and HR functions, but also qualify them for junior consultant roles at PaySpace or at our business partners,” she says.
They will be required to complete a mid-tax year / tax year-end process on PaySpace, set up the Performance Management module, and write customised reports in Cloud-Analytics. In between training days, participants will write assessments to evaluate whether they are keeping up with what is being taught, with a final assessment on the 10th day to state that they are fully certified in PaySpace.
The future is in the cloud, Butner says, adding that the pandemic has reinforced the need for businesses to operate in the cloud to remain open. This became particularly evident during the hard lockdown in levels four and five, when almost the entire South African workforce was sent home to manage as best they can.
“With all businesses accelerating their cloud journeys in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have noticed a big gap in the market among PaySpace customers for payroll managers and admins,” explains Butner.
“Following the HERO Initiative, when an organisation has positions available, they can employ a skilled professional who knows the software inside and out, and who can also pioneer an organisation’s systems migration to the cloud, if necessary. Having PaySpace proficiency is an excellent skill to add to any professional’s CV,” Butner says.
Criteria to be eligible to train
In order to apply, individuals need a minimum of two years’ payroll experience. They must also have a good understanding of payroll legislation. This is fundamental to the programme, as the software features include legislative reporting in the required formats for all supported countries.
The first round of training will consist of 50 people, and the company is considering additional training in the future as well, she adds. “We launched the campaign on Monday 17 August and as of 27 August, and we had approximately 80 applications. Receiving all the CVs and motivations has been a truly humbling experience,” Butner adds.
Once the training is complete, those who were successful will be able to share their certification on their personal LinkedIn accounts to boost their chance of landing a job.
“In April we held TERS Fund training to give everyone as much information as possible. Then we held a ‘Power Conference’ where we hosted several excellent people, again to equip individuals in this sector with as much information as possible during these uncertain times, and help arm them with a practical way forward.
Initiatives such as HERO are important for the industry and since the beginning of lockdown, PaySpace has been hosting training sessions for free,” Butner says.
“At PaySpace, we understand that the future lies in the cloud and we want to provide payroll employees that have been affected by the pandemic with a new skill to future-proof their careers,” concludes Butner.
