TeckChek expands into South Africa

TeckChek, the leading provider of vendor-independent IT skills assessment services since 1987, has expanded into the burgeoning South African market following the establishment of TeckChek Africa (Pty) Limited.

The company''s market leading skills assessment software packages have been sold in South Africa alongside training packages for a number of years through an indirect channel. However, demand has been increasing steadily within the market, especially in more recent months as the South African government has undertaken a number of initiatives aimed at increasing the country''s existing skills levels.

Richard Newton, managing director, TeckChek, stated There have been a stream of directives and initiatives from the South African government aimed at improving the level of training as well as re-skilling programmes for the existing workforce. Underlying these initiatives is the simple fact that as the workforce is retrained it has to be measured and assessed.

Our range of adaptive, online, offline and self-administered tests enable organisations to accurately assess the skills levels of participants thereby reducing the need for time consuming technical interviews and reducing the risk, as well as the expense, of having to replace or develop technically unqualified personnel, he added.
TeckChek''s recently upgraded version of TeckChek Offline, a suite of skills assessment tests designed for the desktop, is expected to be the company''s lead product in the South African market.

The Offline suite can reside either on a desktop or a laptop, enabling recruitment consultants to access the tests without the need to use the Internet.

Richard Newton added What we are seeing in South Africa is the need for a mobile solution - one that does not necessarily depend on the Internet given the poor infrastructure in the country. We are more than aware of how difficult it can be to access the Internet from remote locations such as these when you are dependent on analogue voice lines, mobile phones and the like for dial up. Given that these tests can last up to an hour or more TeckChek Offline is an ideal solution when either Internet access is not reliable or cost prohibitive.