Full Name: Johan Venter

Position: MD of Colliery Training College (CTC)

Main Activity of the Company: The provision of artisan and mining training for employers in the coal sector and for other employers in the broader economy

Date and Place of Birth: 1959, Witbank

Education: BA (Hons) (personnel psychology), University of South Africa (Unisa), 1991; MBL, Unisa, 1995

First Job: Assistant human resources officer

Career History Prior to Current Position: I fulfilled a number of general human resources roles with my previous employer, Highveld Steel. My last job there was manager: organisation development and training

Size of First Pay Packet: R220

First Job with Present Group: MD

Value of Assets under Your Control: More than R150-million

Number of People under Your Leadership: 130

Management Style: Consultative – up to a point

Personal Best Achievement: Seeing my children succeed, and my grandchildren grow up

Professional Best Achievement: Starting CTC’s journey as an online training provider on the first day of the lockdown – March 26 – up to selling the first online course a few weeks later and launching the Artisan 4.0™ brand. Still to be achieved: steering CTC through the Covid-19 crisis, which is seeing many of our clients not sending people for training

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: My father was a guiding light most of my life, and my wife is an anchor

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: The feedback that I get from learners that I have worked with over the past 30 years or so helped me grow in terms of my career – it affirmed that I was doing the right thing

Person You Would Most Like to Meet: Diana Laurillard, of the University of London – she can explain in about six words how people learn and how teachers should teach

Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: Bill Gates

Philosophy of Life: Give opportunities to others – this opens opportunities for yourself

Biggest Ever Opportunity: The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the changed requirements it brings to ordinary artisan training

Biggest Ever Disappointment: Seeing Highveld Steel not succeeding

Hope for the Future: End of Arrogance, Nepotism and Corruption

Favourite Reading: Winston Churchill – he is highly rated as a world leader, but he actually received the Nobel Prize for literature

Favourite TV Programme: The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon

Favourite Food/Drink: Braaivleis and Chardonnay

Favourite Music: Classical

Favourite Sport: Rugby

Favourite Website: futurelearn.com and ctctraining.org

Hobbies: Discovering new things to do with a computer using my limited skills

Car: Toyota Fortuner

Pets: Jack Russel

Miscellaneous Dislikes: Loudness and denying others an opportunity to have an opinion

Favourite Other South African Company: There are some sparkling innovators; if I should single one out, I would offend the others

Favourite Foreign Company: Samsung

Married: To Clara Stolz, since 1989

Children: Rudolf, 30

Clubs: None – I used to have a beer or two at the Witbank Golf Club, but that feels like decades ago