SAPICS Young Professional Membership – R 250.00 excl VAT*
Click here to become a SAPICS Young Professional Member
This membership category is applicable to supply chain professionals who are just starting out in their careers and are under 25 years of age.
Benefits:
- The same benefits as the SAPICS Individual Member
- Access for free to the SAPICS Young Professional and Student Conference
- Young professional registration rate to attend the CSCA (Certified Supply Chain Analyst) course
Eligibility Requirements:
- A copy of your ID is required upon membership application to confirm your age
SAPICS believes strongly in youth development in the Supply Chain industry in our country. To this end, the Association has created a formal Youth programme in 2021.
Youth development in its broadest sense refers to the stages that all children go through to acquire the attitudes, competencies, values, and social skills they need to become successful adults. Their ability to develop successfully depends to a great extent on the support and assistance they receive from the people and institutions around them.
Mentorship
SAPICS believes that in order to build strong supply chains in the future, young professionals need guidance, mentoring, and to be involved in the transfer of knowledge and skills. The role of Associations is key to this development.
A committee has been formed to work together to run the programme. This in its-self teaches committee members new skills. Portfolios have been assigned to members, and they will be asked to report to the management team at SAPICS on a regular basis. Young scholars and young professionals join the Association for R 250.00 for 12 months and regularly receive articles and information pertinent to them. Other benefits include free attendance at the webinars and the Young Professional Conference, and a discount to attend SAPICS partner events. The Association has a career portal on its website, and young members can load their CVs onto the portal at no charge.
A series of webinars have been arranged. The topics covered are CV writing, interview techniques, life and personal skills, workplace skills, up-managing, project writing skills and using social media as a tool. The topics will be linked to the supply chain industry to make it relevant.
Mentoring is frequently referred to as a youth development strategy—one that uses positive youth-adult relationships to provide broad guidance and support rather than aiming to fix a problem or teach a specific skill. Mentoring programmes often include basic information about adolescent development during mentor training, encouraging mentors to be “developmental” rather than “prescriptive” in their work with young people.
Several mentors from the SAPICS membership body have been identified and will work with the young members.
 Kholofelo Mabila - Chairperson of the SAPICS Young Professional Committee |
| According to Stats SA, there is a staggering unemployment rate of 63,2% among young South Africans. The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the importance of supply chain management, and the need to build a pipeline of talent in this skills-strapped field. Many graduates lack the skills, resources and experience, however, to capitalise on opportunities in the profession. “South Africa is currently facing a youth unemployment crisis, while at the same time experiencing a deepening supply chain skills shortage across many sectors,” comments Kholofelo Mabila, who is heading up the SAPICS Young Professional Committee that is driving the programme. Mabila is a third-year student at UNISA. He accepted the challenge of chairing the committee in order to “give back and make a meaningful contribution to the SAPICS supply chain community”. “Since I joined SAPICS last year, I have gained access to local and international expertise and insights that have not only helped me to expand my knowledge but also to map out my potential career path. I also got involved in the SAPICS Youth Programme because I saw it as a unique opportunity to connect and network with other like-minded university students pursuing a career in the field.” |