Mango's IT recruitment and skills development drive

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The airline has, over the past few years, developed its own internal information technology resources allowing complete self-sufficiency and development capability.

"Mango's in-sourcing of IT capability has allowed the business to pursue and implement solutions and innovations in record time," said spokesman Hein Kaiser.

"Programming talent in South Africa rivals that of some of the best knowledge-based economies in the world; there is no reason to outsource beyond our borders when highly qualified talent is available locally." The airline plans to recruit several more IT professionals with Windows, .Net, C++ and Linux experience.

IT skills development also ranks high on the airline's agenda with an internal mentorship programme aimed at developing programming ability across the team. Mango is presently also designing an internship programme within its IT department in order to develop a new talent pool and aid in skills development. "The airline already has a strong internship programme in some areas of the business with IT a priority on our radar," said Kaiser. More information in the internship programme for IT graduates will be available over the next few months.

As with aircraft on the operational side, IT forms the backbone of all a modern airline's commercial activity. "This is the rationale behind our recruitment and skills development drive," said Kaiser, "to develop internal ability and agility while simultaneously contributing to growing the sector locally and driving a reliance on domestic talent rather than outsourcing outside South Africa."