“Samsung has been actively planning for the roll-out of vaccines, as the safety of our employees is reliant on them. With this in mind, we decided to make it easier for staff members and their spouse to get vaccinated during the week, as opposed to times when it may be less convenient to do so. We will continue to rise to the challenges of the pandemic to ensure the safety of our people and their families, “said Zain Reddiar, HR Director at Samsung Africa.

Samsung is also dedicated to making a difference by affording its staff the additional support they may need. Staff as well as their family have been given free access to Trauma and Bereavement counsellors to assist them if affected by the impact of the pandemic.  For now, its employees are continuing to work from home where possible, as protection from Covid-19, which continues to affect South Africans and businesses, despite the easing of lockdown restrictions. Recently, a donation scheme was also put in place to assist colleagues in Kwazulu-Natal, who were affected by the unforeseen unrest. Support staff were sent to these facilities to assist wherever possible.

Beyond its staff, Samsung is currently working with partners to rebuild the ICT value chain, affected by the recent looting and damage to infrastructure. As a partner to South Africa, Samsung is proud to join the country in showcasing its resolve and capacity to rise to a challenge. Inspired by this spirit of resilience and unity Samsung has elevated its #StrongerTogether campaign to be a part of the nation’s inspiring mission to rebuild South Africa.

The awards reflect the country’s affinity for Samsung’s diverse product range, from cutting-edge smartphones across price ranges to home appliances that empower people to do more. The Sunday Times Top Brands rankings have been awarding South Africa’s most recognised brands for the over two decades. However, due to the COVID -19 lockdown in 2020, Sunday Times research partners Kantar were not able to go out in the field to conduct the usual research.  Kantar, therefore, decided to understand the current brand landscape and to celebrate the success of brands within their categories over the last decade. Samsung followed years of recognition in a host of consumer categories with the Grand Prix award in 2019.

“Over many years we have continued to listen to the needs of South Africans and design products that make life infinitely better. We are humbled by these awards, which affirms our commitment to creating innovation for all. We will continue to create meaningful experiences through the power of technology and be a part of the moving the nation into a prosperous future” said Cambridge Mokanyane, Samsung South Africa, Chief Marketing Officer.

The Sunday Times Top Brands Awards were announced on 8 November 2020.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – 20 September, 2019 – The Sunday Times Top Brands rankings have been awarding South Africa’s most recognised brands for the over two decades. Kantar conducted face-to-face interviews with 3 500 adults in the metro and non-metro areas of South Africa in the Consumer sample. The business sample represents businesses of all sizes, with 382 C-level decision-makers participating in online self-complete interviews.

Samsung was once again announced as South Africa’s Overall Favourite Brand, at this year’s Sunday Times Top Brands Survey. The brand shared this honour with another South African favourite, Koo. Samsung also won the Grand Prix award in the Business category as well as:

• Cellphones – Business & Consumer;
• Electronic Goods – Consumer; and
• Large Kitchen Appliances- Consumer.

“We are humbled by these awards. It affirms our ongoing mission to design products that enhance lives. Creating meaningful experiences for consumers is at the heart of Samsung’s innovation. These awards also arrive in a year we celebrate the ‘Power of 10’, which marks the success of popular devices such as the Galaxy Note10, Galaxy S10 and a host of innovative home and business products, that have captured the imagination of the nation,” said Hlubi Shivanda, Director: Business Innovation Group & Corporate Affairs.

Samsung will soon announce the ‘Power of 10’ event, which celebrates Samsung’s enduring commitment to South Africa and its people.

In a country like South Africa, where there is a dearth of technical skills, it has become critical to focus on developing such expertise within the youth market. By focusing on teaching technical skills, organisations are able to provide both an answer to the current youth unemployment challenge and deliver qualifications that can help legitimise those operating in the informal sector.
 
Samsung South Africa has three technical academies currently in operation across South Africa, with in excess of 500 students associated with these. Each of these academies plays its part in tackling the skills and unemployment crisis in Gauteng. The largest of these institutions, the Samsung Engineering Academy, is based in Boksburg, while additional academies can be found in KwaThema on the East Rand and in Hammanskraal, near Pretoria.
 
Richard Chetty, Director for SSA Service at Samsung South Africa, says that the locations for these academies were chosen specifically to provide better opportunities for youngsters in these underprivileged areas.
 
“The goal is to teach them to become proficient in skills that will allow us to employ them within our service centres. To this end, students in Hammanskraal learn technical skills related to servicing Samsung’s large appliances, as well as our phones. In KwaThema, the main focus is on our refrigerators and air-conditioners, which are specialist skills that have to meet specific compliance standards, meaning there is generally a scarcity of engineers from this perspective,” he says.
 
Chetty explains that acquiring such skills means that those students who are not employed directly by Samsung will still have the opportunity to open their own small business once they have qualified. “Samsung has also launched a programme designed to encourage young entrepreneurs to start their own businesses using these skills.”
 
Chetty adds that the main academy in Boksburg focuses mostly on training students in a range of skills related to cell phone servicing. The idea is for graduates to be able to work within the company’s service centres once they have graduated.
 
Samsung has also paid special attention to the needs of women in this region, who often have even fewer opportunities for formal employment than men. The Boksburg Academy is where Samsung’s successful Women Technical Programme (WTP) is based. The WTP selects a number of female students from previously disadvantaged backgrounds for the first ever training programme specifically for hand held devices. Once their graduation from the programme is completed, these students are placed at a number of Samsung’s Service Centres, where they will undergo a year of practical work in order to gain necessary and valuable experience. Following a final assessment, they will be certified as technicians, which will open up a meaningful career path to them
 
Chetty points out that 16 of the women who graduated from the first course have been employed by Samsung, enabling them to support their households while also being viewed as pillars in their community. The success of this programme is indicated by the fact that Samsung is currently seeking an additional 20 young women to join the second iteration of the WTP.
 
“So far, Samsung has employed in the region of 100 graduates from these academies within its service network. However, even those who don’t get employed by us, find that having this accreditation and skill behind their names provide a good stepping stone to future employment.”
 
“The most heartening thing is that from a social perspective, these academies have really give these communities hope – a goal which lies close to the heart of Samsung’s brand ethos. In a country struggling with high unemployment, the youth are able to see the tangible benefits offered by such studies and it makes them all the more eager to participate,” Chetty concludes.