The organisation was originally established in 1999 by predominantly former alumni of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University) and Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), now known as the University of Johannesburg. The founders were driven by a shared vision to bridge the gap between classroom theory and the realities of the labour market.
These former students recognised the urgent need to connect graduates with relevant organisations in both the private and public sectors. They intended to ensure that graduates could successfully transition into the economy and meaningfully contribute through their skills, talents, and competencies.
The founders identified the widening gap between graduation and the world of work as a major challenge affecting many young professionals entering different fields of employment. Motivated by this concern, they initiated engagements with government officials, heads of Chapter 9 institutions, CEOs of state-owned enterprises, Cabinet Ministers and Deputy Ministers, CEOs of top JSE-listed and non-listed companies, private sector leaders, the Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, and Ministers of Finance.
These leaders were invited to participate in seminars and conferences organised by students at their alma mater institutions. The purpose of these engagements was to share knowledge, experiences, challenges, and insights into leadership, governance, and economic development, while also fostering patriotism and a collective responsibility towards building a stronger and more resourceful South Africa.
GIFT IS THE SOURCE OF PROSPERITY AND VALUE
By Joel Sekoala
President of the Epitome of Black Excellence (EBE)
GIFT IS THE SOURCE OF PROSPERITY AND VALUE. IF YOU ARE NOT A CONTRIBUTOR TO THE NATION BUILDING, THEN YOU ARE A NUISANCE TO CIVILIZATION.
Lekgotleng La Banna with A Vision Gathering of Men with A Vision 2025
Your relevance in life will always be a reflection of your value and contribution; nobody will applaud you for nothing. Your relevance is a measure of your value and contribution.
You are a contributor to the nation-building; you are not a nuisance to civilisation. When all men seek you, it is because there is something that you are carrying which they are desperately in need of.
When you become valuable, those who need you will find you; your value must be able to match and quench the level of hunger and thirst that people have.
Excellence, skill and competence are a language, and there are people who know how to speak it, so when you are skilful, competent and excellent in what you do, what you do will speak for you.
When you become an active contributor to the lives of people, they will forgive many of your limitations and pursue the value you have.
For you to remain valuable, you seek and ask for the grace of God, because it is one of the things that hasten man’s blessings.
#epitomeofblackexellence
#giftisthesourceofyourvalue
Why Are Degree Holders Poor
Why are teachers poor, yet being educated, people?
I have a very painful truth to dish out to graduates out there.
Your degree or certificate is not the cure to poverty; the cure to poverty is your ability to see and seize opportunities.
School rewards people for their memory.
Life rewards people for their creativity and ability to solve problems.
School rewards caution; life rewards daring. School hails those who live by the rules.
Life exalts those who break the rules and set new ones. Being top of your class does not necessarily guarantee that you will be at the top of life.
The world is filled with poor graduates but rich opportunists!
Kevin Ngo once said, “If you don’t make the time to work on creating the life you want, you’re eventually going to be forced to spend a lot of time dealing with a life you don’t want”.
Your certificates and degrees are meant to help you garner the experience and expertise needed to fulfil your dreams; they are not your destination!
I have watched pitiably many graduates with degrees and certificates languishing in poverty looking for jobs that don’t exist while people with keen eyes for opportunities reach the pinnacle of success in the unlikeliest of ways.
Do you have a graduate or degree holder around you that is poor? I bet you have as they are everywhere!
I have a very painful truth to dish out to graduates out there: Your degree or certificate is
1. THEY DON’T THINK BEYOND THEIR CERTIFICATES:
Albert Einstein said, “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.”
Have you ever heard of the creativity term “Think outside the box”?
One of the major reasons why most graduates are poor is simply that they can’t see and think beyond their certificates. I have seen engineering students work as bankers.
I have seen medical doctors with great skills in web and graphic design.
2. THEY PRIORITIZE THEIR CERTIFICATES MORE THAN THEIR GIFTS AND TALENTS:
I have often advised some of my mentees, never to leave their gifts dormant while pursuing and hunting for jobs with their certificates.
There must be a complementary balance in the pursuit of your passion and in the search for jobs. Everybody is gifted for something, but the winning edge comes from our ability to work on our gifts and bless the world with it.
3. THEIR CERTIFICATES PREPARE THEM FOR A WORLD THAT NO LONGER EXIST:
It has been found that most of the skills taught in schools are becoming obsolete in the present world.
The world has changed a lot, and so are people’s need! in Dubai some few years ago there was a conference organized by the British Council with the Theme: “Education Fit For The Future: Planning For A Changing World.” It is poignant to know that the present form of education does not prepare students for the future.
4. THEY KNOW LESS ABOUT THEMSELVES BUT MORE ABOUT THINGS:
Certificates and degrees don’t reveal people to themselves; they at most measure our IQ (Intelligent Quotient). I have often tell people that there is no Recovery without Discovery.
A poor man is simply someone that has not discovered himself. The more you discover yourself, the more you realize the treasures that are hidden deep within you.
5. CERTIFICATES AND DEGREES CAN KILL INITIATIVES:
Degrees and certificates can close up your minds to ideas while initiatives open it up.
If you are not careful, your degrees and certificates can close up your mind.
The purpose of education is to keep your mind perpetually opened towards limitless possibilities! Fred Smith saw an opportunity for overnight delivery of anything anywhere in the USA, and ultra- fast delivery anywhere in the world, FedEx was born.
6. DEGREES AND CERTIFICATES POSITION YOU TO LOOK FOR JOBS AND NOT FOR OPPORTUNITIES:
Our certificates and degrees prepare graduates to look for jobs and not open our eyes to life-changing opportunities.
You are not poor because you don’t have a job; you are poor because you are not seeing and seizing opportunities.
Being POOR is simply Passing Over Opportunities Repeatedly!
7. CERTIFICATES AND DEGREES PREPARE
PEOPLE TO LOOK FOR SECURITY AND NOT TO TAKE RISKS:
We must be willing to make mistakes and take breakthrough risks.
Taking risks and learning from mistakes help us know what works and what does not!
When Thomas Edison was being questioned by a mischievous journalist on how he felt for having failed 999 times before getting the idea of the light bulb, his response stunned the whole world when he confidently said, “I have not failed 999 times, I have only learned 999 ways of how not to make a light bulb”.
My candid advice to graduates and students in institutions is to think wide, deep and outside the box.
Take volunteer jobs, and don’t be afraid to navigate fields that are different from your field of learning.
Your future career will require you to pull information from many different fields to come up with creative solutions to future problems.
Start by reading as much as you can about anything and everything that interests you. Once you get to college, consider double-majoring or minoring in completely different fields. Trust me, it’ll pay off in the long run.
Don’t limit yourself to the classroom.
Do something practical.
Take a leadership position.
Start a business and fail; that’s better entrepreneurship.
Contest an election and lose.
It will teach you something that political science will not teach you.
Attend a seminar. Read books outside the scope of your course.
Think less of becoming an excellent student but think more of becoming an excellent person. Don’t make the classroom your world, but make the world your classroom.
Step forward and try something extra. Invest in something you believe!
What you’re looking for is also looking for you – Joel Sekoala
Leadership is not about power but empowerment – Joel Sekoala
About Epitome of Black Excellence
Epitome of Black Excellence is a Non-profit organization based in South Africa, which was founded in 1999, by Mr. Joel Sekoala. The organization was founded with the objective to enhance community building and provide talented individuals, with a platform where their gifts can be supported and recognized. Epitome of Black Excellence is a growing foundation that has made great impact I various communities since the beginning. Our projects include partnering with government and private institutions to host a Leadership conference with the aim of grooming individuals into problem solvers to promote community development. EBE also prides itself in providing underprivileged schools with new school shoes and school supplies annually, we have organized various events and conferences to promote book launches and celebrate the artistic works of the nation’s creative minds. The organization has grown immensely through partnering with South Africa’s leading foundations in every project we dedicate ourselves towards. As an organization we aspire to reach the globe in all works that we do, especially when it comes to grooming young creative minds.
About RM Legacy Group:
Robbie Malinga legacy group’s purpose is to build and keep Robbie Malinga’s legacy alive. We started by sharing Robbie’s life through a self-titled book (Robbie Malinga) released on 08 November 2021 on his birthday. We aim to bring all Robbie’s wishes to life, by giving the under privileged a helping hand where we can in trying to improve their situations (currently underway is an initiative we’re running in restoring the dignity of teenage boys by helping with necessities needed for survival & hygiene), an idea meant to launch in 2018. We aim at running all things tied to the name “Robbie Malinga“ including his main sector of work which is entertainment.
Profile of Mr Joel Sekoala
The President of The Epitome of Black Excellence – Joel Sekoala in full swing of EBE Assignments in 2022.
Joel Sekoala was born and raised at Maroteng, a village outside of Mokopane in Limpopo. He was amongst the first in his village to gain entrance at Wits University in the 90’s.
He did his tertiary education at the University of the Witwatersrand, and graduated with Bachelor of Commerce in Finance and Economics. Also, he completed a programme in Leadership and Prodigee Assets Management with the University of Cape Town.
He was recruited straight from Wits University by directors at M-IT. He went on to manage majority percentage of this company.
He is a proponent of Black Economic Empowerment. He has been actively involved in promoting the empowerment of local professionals and companies. He design a model which include three ICT companies and also led a team that successful closed an ICT deal worth over R1.7 Billion with the South African Revenue Services in which over 50 SMME’s around the country benefited. He is an Entrepreneurial Management Strategist having worked with the market leaders in a variety of industries.
His experiences and skills cover Strategic General Management, Channel Management, Distribution, Marketing, Communications, , and Key Accounts Management, consulting, professional services and Sales / Business Development at both Senior Management and Executive levels.
He has had meaningful interactions with an array of clientele from individuals, governments to Blue Chip companies. He is unique in his blended experience. Serving companies from various perspectives in the communications industry, network, service providers, ISP, distributors, wholesalers, manufacturers, OEMs, and system integrator.
He also has unique experience in solution and retail selling, in addition distributing to the informal market as well as Corporate. He is the founder and Executive Director of Bavumile ICT Solutions and Mthombo IT Services. Also, he sits on several boards, He was voted top ICT Young Entrepreneur of the year in Africa in 2005 against other Entrepreneurs from 55 African Countries. He is currently doing business development in both corporate and government agencies in South Africa and the rest of the world.
Joel Sekoala currently he is a Leadership strategist (leading mentoring and incubation programs across) ,Leadership consultant, life coach, marriage counselor, world renowned motivational speaker, Talk show host, Program directing of various corporate and public events and Kingdom Ambassador advocating ‘Life of Purpose’ through discovering of human Gifts and Talents to all humanity across the surface of the earth while still alive.
