PMA Fresh Connections: Southern Africa offers programmes to attract, develop and retain industry talent

5 Jul 2019

30 and 31 July 2019 have been set for the PMA Fresh Connections: Southern Africa Conference and Trade Show at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town.

PMA Fresh Connections: Southern Africa offers programmes to attract, develop and retain industry talent

What makes this event unique, is that it is the only event in southern Africa that brings together the entire fresh produce supply chain under one roof.

In addition to an exciting conference programme, trade show and new connections roundtable, the event has a huge focus on industry talent.

“Founded in 2005, the Center for Growing Talent (CGT) is a charitable organisation with the mission to provide industry-specific solutions to attract, develop and retain talent for the produce and floral industries,” explains Alicia Calhoun, CGT vice president - Talent portfolio.

This year, the CGT will be hosting three programmes at Fresh Connections: Southern Africa.

The Women’s Fresh Perspectives Breakfast will provide industry members the opportunity to build meaningful relationships and to gain career insights from inspirational guest speaker, Caroline Ravenall. Her expertise is based on 25 years of business and leadership experience – 10 of which were spent as a high flying executive working with Richard Branson and the Virgin Group of Companies where innovation, disruption, and change were a constant feature.
Focusing on growing professional networks the Young Professionals Breakfast will bring together career-minded professionals 35 and younger who are working in the fresh produce industry. They can look forward to learning from industry leaders and connecting with peers to share ideas and experiences.
Career Pathways programmes are designed to attract the best and brightest university students to begin a career in the fresh produce industry. In hosting the Career Pathways programmes, CGT works close together with the Citrus Academy, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in South Africa and four local universities. The programme includes a career focused workshop, as well as access to other CGT events and Fresh Connections conference sessions. Furthermore, a Career Ambassador will be assigned to each student to serve as an industry advisor answering questions, and introducing them to other industry professionals.

“To attract fresh talent to our industry takes committed volunteers, who create awareness about career opportunities and spread their passion for fresh produce and floral to others.

“We are grateful for sponsors such as Absa Bank, Bayer and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in South Africa who support the CGT programmes at Fresh Connections: Southern Africa,” says Calhoun.

Women’s Fresh Perspectives Breakfast and Dialogue

Date: 30 July 2019
Time: 07h00-11h00
Fee: R600 Breakfast only; R800 Breakfast and dialogue

Young Professionals Breakfast

Date: 31 July 2019
Time: 07h00-09h00
Fee: R250

For more information and to register visit www.pma.com/FCSouthernAfrica or contact: Lindie Stroebel, General Manager PMA Southern Africa on e-mail moc.amp@lebeortsL.

About PMA:

The Produce Marketing Association (PMA) is a trade organisation representing companies from every segment of the global fresh produce and floral supply chain. PMA helps members grow by providing connections that expand business opportunities and increase sales and consumption. PMA has a unique network of more than
63,000 contacts from more than 2,700 member companies, based in 95 countries across six continents. These contacts span all sizes and types of businesses across the supply chain.