The following plan/policy has become the affirmative action policy of Austen Smith.

Through consultations, it was agreed by the Employment Equity Forum that a change of recruitment and selection needed to be implemented by  management to effect proper affirmative action measures. In addition, certain employees needed to be identified and fostered so as to multi-skill  and multi-task them in order to carry out different functions within the organisation.

 It was agreed that there was under-representation of females from the designated group in the clerk category. New interviewing techniques and  selection criteria have been implemented so as to give preference to people from the designated group enabling them to gain access to the  workplace.

 Recruitment was identified as the biggest reason for under-representation of the designated group within the Austen Smith workforce. This has  been targeted and in the future, as discussed above, will be altered.

 Austen Smith is committed to reaching its numerical goals by the end of 2013 as set out in the Employment Equity EEA2 document. In addition,  training and development have been put on a priority list so as to assist staff already employed with honing their skills and also to train those who  need new and different skills. This would also move people from the designated groups into different occupational categories.

 Through a process of training and skills development, Austen Smith will promote "in  house" provided that the candidates are suitably qualified. To enhance a buoyant and  cohesive working environment, Austen Smith has embarked on a skills development  programme that trains and develops its employees and motivates them to reach  higher levels of competence. This also assists in bridging the education gap and  ensures that the under-representation of employees from the designated group is  eradicated.

The Austen Smith Employment Equity Plan is monitored every six months. Employees are invited to submit their comments and criticisms to encourage positive consultations and thereby ensuring the longevity of our plan.