BEE Partner, South Africa Economy Watch

Developing Black intellectual capacity

Developing Black intellectual capacity may appear to be irrelevant to QSE business. It is not as if most professional services firms such as accountants, attorneys, engineers and doctors fall into the QSE category. These professional services are at the heart of developing the country’s intellectual capacity. This section is critical to these professions.

There is little confidence in Black people by both Black and white people. It is that simple. The previous education system did not provide Black people with an equivalent education to white people. When a Black person enters the market an assumption is made that he or she does not have the same “mental prowess” as a white person. The result is an inherent lack of confidence in Black people.

Who have the least confidence in Black people? Strangely enough, Black people do. One seldom hears of Black people consulting Black attorneys on mergers and acquisitions. They go to white attorneys because they do not have confidence in their Black counterparts.

Rectifying the shortage of Black management must start by changing the perception of Black and white people towards Black intellectual capacity. The availability of people to train is not a problem because skills can be learned. Neither is the ability of Black people the problem. It is the perception of Black people that is the problem.

Business requires more accurate techniques for identifying intellectual capacity. Where I am from does not define where I am going. The old school question of “What does your father do?” is of little value to a culture whose fathers were actively oppressed.

Having a model C school education is not a measure of one’s intellectual capacity. It does mean the Black person is probably more articulate in English, or has had greater exposure to knowledge, but it has nothing to do with that person’s intellectual capacity.

Without prejudice to Black people who are articulate with a private school background, the market does make a natural assumption that they must be “clever” because they speak well. The person may then, for instance, be hired for a complex mathematical role which they will never be capable of fulfilling because they are not mathematically inclined — they just happen to speak well.

Compare someone graduating from a model C school with aC aggregate, with someone graduating from a township school with a C aggregate. Which one has the greater intellectual capacity? It may well be the scholar graduating from the township school because he or she may have had less help in achieving the grade. Which one will get the better job? The person who attended the model C school because he or she projects better with more eloquent articulation, giving an impression of intellectual capacity.

Businesses need to identify real intellectual capacity in the sphere in which it will be needed. They should take those candidates in and develop their confidence, articulation and skills through opportunity and relevant experience.

Initial interviews should be open, non-confrontational and friendly, allowing the true character of the Black candidate to surface. This will help Black people with real ambition and intellectual capacity to emerge.

Assignments

Black people are often allocated less glamorous clients or appealing tasks in traineeships. The reasons for this vary but the outcome is the same.

Using the auditing profession as an example, as I happen to be familiar with this profession, Black trainees are usually assigned to public sector audits or to mining operations. These audits are not as interesting as those in the financial services, media or entertainment sectors.

In the legal profession, Black trainees are often assigned to debt collection or labour matters. If they leave the profession as soon as they are qualified, assuming they have the capacity to finish an uninspiring task, they have restricted value to add to the market other than being debt collectors or labour attorneys. The exiting Black attorney has no experience in matters that drive industry, such as corporate finance.

The jobs allocated to trainees in their first year determine their career in that profession. If Black people get the menial jobs, they will leave that profession. The mindset that important jobs should go to white people still exists and undermines the growth of Black employees; If professional services want to retain top-quality Black people, they must expose them to interesting assignments.

The responsibility for change rests heavily on the professional services companies. During training, intellectual capacity is stimulated and market knowledge gained. All recognised professions have some form of obligatory traineeship. Exposure during traineeship to critical skills offers Black people the opportunity to grow in confidence when handling matters that drive the market. Self-confidence begets confidence from others and slowly perceptions are changed.

The key is for companies to appoint someone who is aware of the importance of this matter to take charge of the allocation of assignments.

Unintentional relegation

There are many cases where Black people are relegated to menial positions by circumstance and misunderstanding. In the context of professional services training, an example is a Black trainee accountant arriving in a city from a rural area. Employees of this nature are expected to have their own transport. In most cases, however, even having a driver’s licence is unlikely, never mind owning a car.

The result is that these trainees are allocated “box jobs” or in-house jobs that do not require travelling. Most in-house jobs are menial and afford the trainee little real experience. The Black trainee exits with a far less relevant qualification than the white trainee who had the initial advantage of having personal transport.

The Black person is inadvertently assigned to less exciting clients purely on the basis of a difference arising from his or her background or culture. This is particularly prevalent among employees originating from rural areas.

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