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Skillfully staff writer
Customer-centricity reigns supreme in today’s world. Understanding the intricacies of Customer Experiences (CX) is essential for businesses aiming to thrive.
To uncover insights into workplace CX, Skillfully interviews the leaders of CX award-winning company enlightencx, CEO Nathalie Schooling and Director Brendon Bairstow-Klopper.
Nathalie and Brendon outline important CX aspects, including organisational strengths and weaknesses. They also provide insights from their inspiring Customer...
24 April 2024
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Tessa Dowling
Speaking to people in their home language, Episode 2
“My Xhosa name is Flea.”
“Who gave you that name?”
In this second episode, you’ll see Tessa chatting with people in Xhosa – and finding them delighted to speak to a fellow South African who has learnt their home language.
If you’re interested in Xhosa lessons and learning Xhosa online, Dr Dowling now offers two tailored Xhosa courses to suit your proficiency level.
Speak Xhosa in 8 Weeksis a beginner's Xhosa course for those who...
18 April 2024
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Tessa Dowling
Speaking to people in their home language, Episode 1
"The way you click your tongue – it blesses me!"
In a world that often feels divided by language and culture, real connections are heartening. In this video, you’ll see Dr Tessa Dowling chatting with people in Xhosa – and finding them thrilled to speak to a fellow South African who has learnt their home language.
If you’re interested in Xhosa lessons and learning Xhosa online, Dr Dowling now offers two tailored Xhosa courses to suit...
16 April 2024
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Skillfully staff writer
In collaboration with Skillfully, Excel Academy recently hosted a free Excel Masterclass, led by Excel expert and actuary Dan Stillerman. Dan's Excel tutorial covered essential keyboard shortcuts, Excel basics, and functions which can be used by individuals and teams to enhance workplace productivity. Participants also gained insights into AI integration with Excel.
For those aiming to enhance their work productivity, Excel Academy's Excel training courses - Excel 101, 202, and 303 - offer a...
26 March 2024
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The King's Speech
In a media interview, the number one obstacle is overcoming your nerves and fears about stepping in front of the lens. To shed light on the secrets to mastering media training, Skillfully interviews Ashlea Evans, an international TV reporter, media trainer, and communications expert. Ashlea highlights the importance of mastering the skills of media communication, including the need for media planning, the impact of passion on brand reputation, and effective crisis management strategies. Stress...
22 March 2024
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Skillfully staff writer
In a recent episode of the Learning Exchange podcast, Skillfully co-founder Prof Jimmy Winfield discussed the transformative impact of the blended learning model he and his team have introduced at the University of Cape Town (UCT).
An instructor with over two decades of teaching experience and multiple awards, including the National Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award, Jimmy is no stranger to innovative pedagogical approaches. His passion for enhancing the student learning experience, c...
20 March 2024
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Skillfully staff writer
In today's data-driven world, knowing how to analyse and visualise data is key to success – and Power BI is a powerful tool for doing so. Recently, Skillfully held a free intro session, Getting Going with Power BI, led by Oxford-based South African data expert Fuaad Coovadia.
Fuaad guided participants through basic Power BI skills, showcasing capabilities beyond Microsoft Excel. Participants saw how to import and transform data using Power BI, and how to create powerful visualisations like das...
18 March 2024
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Skillfully staff writer
Rob Broster's recent free introductory class on the Enneagram offered attendees a glimpse into the transformative power of this ancient personality system. In just one hour, Rob guided attendees through the Enneagram's "map of nine," shedding light on how it can enhance personal and career growth, while also fostering self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal dynamics. These qualities are vital for enhancing workplace relationships and cultivating a positive workplace culture.
...
11 March 2024
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Skillfully staff writer
In today's digital landscape, businesses must use data to its full potential. Power BI's capabilities in data importing, cleaning, modelling, and interactive data visualisations makes it an indispensable tool for business professionals.
In an exclusive interview, Fuaad Coovadia – data scientist, doctoral candidate at Oxford University and formerly Head of Data Science at Harambee Youth Employment – sheds light on the capabilities of Power BI. Fuaad emphasises the importance of Power BI, its...
01 March 2024
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Skillfully staff writer
At Skillfully, we're passionate about empowering individuals and teams to build their careers. In this video, Lesegisha Mthiyane, Executive Chairman of Finance Hut, shares his inspiring journey of upskilling, driven by his commitment to professional competence and ethical practices.
Lesegisha describes how his knowledge of regulatory requirements helps him maintain strong client relationships and high standards in financial services. He also highlights Skillfully's crucial role in his journe...
21 February 2024
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Skillfully staff writer
At Skillfully, our passion for Excel and its amazing capacities mean that we appreciate events like the annual Excel World Championship, where experts from around the world compete to prove their Excel mastery. In this video, we show the pulse-pounding moments that define the competition. Contestants face a series of tasks to test their Excel proficiency, with functions like IFS, XLOOKUP, SUM, VBA, Power Query – and so many more.
Are you as inspired as we are by the astonishing excel formula...
12 February 2024
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Janis Slingsby
Janis Slingsby writes about her profound, funny and fabulous learning journey on the beginners' Xhosa course Speak Xhosa in Eight Weeks, offered by UCT's distinguished teacher Dr Tessa Dowling via Skillfully...
I first signed up for Tessa Dowling’s ‘Speak Xhosa in eight weeks’ in July, and what an extreme privilege it is to have Tessa as my teacher.
Learning Xhosa at this stage in my life, when my brain is just like my computer - outdated hardware, not enough RAM and not enough storage c...
22 November 2023
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Greg Fried
In this engaging and insightful discussion, Skillfully’s Dr Greg Fried had the privilege of hosting Professor Mark Graham, a renowned expert in accounting, finance, and integrated reporting. With a stellar career that includes leadership roles at UCT's College of Accounting and Graduate School of Business, Professor Graham has left a great impression as an educator of thousands of professionals and students.
Mark Graham's past students and course participants describe him as a captivating...
07 November 2023
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Skillfully staff writer
At Skillfully, we’re committed to the value of upskilling. With the right training, professionals can advance their capacities and careers while helping colleagues, clients and others.
That’s why we host the Skillfully High Achiever Award. The award celebrates young professionals in financial services who have upskilled themselves, and by doing so boosted their own work performance and brought benefit to others too.
Click here to apply. You’re eligible for the award if this describes y...
05 November 2023
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Skillfully staff writer
Financial services professionals play a crucial role in the economic landscape of South Africa. To protect consumers by maintaining the high standards of these professionals, the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act (FAIS) sets out “fit and proper” requirements to ensure that professionals are competent, ethical, and trustworthy. This article describes these requirements and their significance for financial services professionals.
To whom do the fit and proper requirements apply?
...
03 November 2023
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Skillfully staff writer
If you’re interested in the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, the global standard for investment industry knowledge, then you’ll want to know about the recent updates to the CFA curriculum. At Skillfully, where we help firms and professionals find great courses, many of our client firms have been asking us about the changes.
Below are some common questions, and our answers. We’ve drawn on the expertise of Tim Davies from FTS, the training provider that features its excellent CFA I,...
18 August 2023
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Greg Fried and Jimmy Winfield
This article first appeared on CHRO South Africa.
As an HR professional, you may be involved in learning and development. You might also know that ChatGPT, the AI software that will converse with you in an amazingly human way, can be a powerful learning partner. This growing range of AI software can be a useful assistant to enhance upskilling, but must be used with caution.
The hallucinating software
AI often generates text in a tone of confident authority, as if from an expert. Don’t...
27 July 2023
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Rob Broster
Many people aspire to a management role, but the transition to management is often more challenging than anticipated. To shed light on the challenges, Skillfully interviewed Rob Broster, an instructor and coach renowned for his expertise in management training. Rob dives into the complexities of stepping up to management, shares insight on why it can be a tricky transition, touches on current management and leadership theory, and emphasises the importance of starting your journey by understa...
05 July 2023
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Verity Price
In this interview, Skillfully speaks with the inspiring Verity Price, the first African and sixth woman ever to become the World Public Speaking Champion. Verity, who is also a TEDx speaker, entrepreneur, musician and actor, shares her expertise and tips for discovering the keys to happiness and positivity. She discusses the importance, for corporate employees and teams, of learning practical skills to increase happiness and positivity, and the profound impact of these qualities in the workpla...
20 June 2023
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Financial Training Solutions
Listen as Greg Fried, co-founder of Skillfully, interviews Tim Davies, a CFA holder and the co-founder of Financial Training Solutions. With their CFA level 1, level 2, and level 3 courses available on Skillfully, Tim and his team have successfully trained over a thousand candidates to pass their exams. Join Tim as hedelves into the value of pursuing a CFA, describes common habits of successful candidates, gives tips for balancing CFA preparation with a busy lifestyle, identifieschallenging ...
05 June 2023
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BPG
Did you know that Beyoncé gets so nervous when she has to perform that long ago she invented an alter ego, Sasha Fierce, to help? Apparently, Queen Bey first has to become Sasha before she can strut out onto the stage and be the global megastar that she is.
We may not be wearing her heels, but most of us have to strut a bit – according to a Prezi survey, presentation skills are vital for 70% of people. And, like Beyoncé, we all need a little help: three-quarters of presenters wish to improve ...
02 June 2023
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Greg Fried
Listen to Skillfully co-founder Greg Fried and Nikki McNaught of the Business Presentation Group as they discuss what is needed to create and deliver an outstanding business presentation. Nikki's vast experience has helped many to produce compelling presentations that have yielded greater business success, more sales, stronger client relationships, and numerous other positive results.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW
Nikki, an expert trainer for the Business Presentation Group's...
23 May 2023
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Communication Guru
Skillfully co-founder Greg Fried sits down with John French of Communication Guru, communication expert and designer of the Face-to-Face and Virtual Presentation Masterclass. John discusses essential skills for presentersin today's rapidly changing world and offers valuable tips and advice for making a lasting impression, presenting professionally online, managing nerves, and building a professional brand. He also touches on the art of reading an audience and tailoring presentations to your stak...
05 April 2023
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Tessa Dowling
In this fun skit, Dr Tessa Dowling, course trainer for Speak Xhosa in Eight Weeks, surprises her colleague Thembelihle as she speaks to her fluently in Xhosa. If you're looking for isiXhosa lessons for beginners and want to learn Xhosa online, these brilliant Xhosa language lessons from a UCT academic will show you the basics ofhow to speak Xhosa. You'll have a new way to connect withyour fellow South Africans and understand more about Xhosa language and culture.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE SKI...
28 March 2023
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Tessa Dowling
CapeTalk's John Maytham recently interviewed Dr Tessa Dowling, course trainer for Speak Xhosa in Eight Weeks and Senior Lecturer in African Languages and Literature at UCT.
Tessa, who holds UCT’s Distinguished Teacher Award, shared insights on how to learn Xhosa and become conversationally competent. She emphasised the importance of learning Xhosa phrases toserve as the building blocks for conversation. For those with limited time, Tessa suggested receivingpositive affirmation bypracticing ...
16 March 2023
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Tessa Dowling
Skillfully co-founder Greg Fried speaks to Dr. Tessa Dowling, Senior Lecturer in African Languages and Literatures at UCT, on practical tips for learning Xhosa, the benefits of knowing some Xhosa, and more. Tessa is an acclaimed Xhosa lecturer with a Distinguished Teacher Award from UCT. We’re delighted to feature her course Speak Xhosa in Eight Weeks on Skillfully.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW
07 March 2023
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Greg Fried
How should we handle hard conversations with colleagues, strengthen bonds with clients, and connect with fellow South Africans despite our differences? I asked Michael Walker of Language Boss about all this and more. As an expert in workplace conversations, Michael had strong and practical advice. It was such a pleasure to listen to him – try it!
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW
21 February 2023
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Jimmy Winfield
Thinking of changing jobs? Maybe there’s a solution to your workplace frustrations that doesn’t require quitting. Nzinga Qunta interviews Greg Fried, co-founder of Skillfully, on the prospects for South African professionals upskilling to enhance their job satisfaction. Greg highlights the importance of directing one’s own upskilling journey and making informed choices about the courses that suit one best. Skillfully offers courses for professionals and firms in a market where information abou...
07 February 2023
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Greg Fried
Jimmy Winfield, co-founder of skillfully.co.za, recently spoke with Africa Melane of CapeTalk about the Great Resignation among South African professionals. If you’re looking for career advancement, Jimmy recommends thinking twice before quitting, and rather working with your employer to upskill yourself. As Jimmy explains, it can be hard to find and book the right courses. Skillfully.co.za makes it easy, empowering you to make your own training decisions and optimising the process of finding ...
23 January 2023
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Communication Guru
The rise of virtual presenting has changed presenting forever. Your old presentation skills are limited. Here are the new presentation skills trends you need to know.
Just when millions of people had mastered presenting and had overcome their public speaking fears, Covid changed presenting forever. The sad truth is that your old live presentation skills are now hugely limited. The new truth you need to connect with is that you are now a BROADCASTER, and your home has become your RECORDING STUD...
09 January 2023
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