Our Timeline
New beginnings and on 5 December, Free To Grow (FTG) gains legal status as a registered CC. FTG’s initial focus is on self development for farmworkers in the Western Cape.
FTG pilots it’s Lifeskills programme for the Department of Correctional Services at Pollsmore Prison subsequently implemented in prisons country wide.
FTG becomes a Pty Ltd. FTG Lifeskills starts bearing fruit in organisations such as Sanlam, PEP, De Beers, Metropolitan Health and Nasionale Pers. Founder and Executive Chairperson, Alinda Nortje is announced runner up in the Western Cape Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
FTG NAMIBIA IS BORN
More organisations e.g. PwC and TFG implement FTG Lifeskills. FTG announced regional winner in the Western Cape Old Mutual Business of the Year Award in recognition of it’s outstanding service delivery and community involvement.
FTG Contributes by partnering with MES, a NPO, to “Change the Heart of the City”. To date 3 806 unemployed youth have attended FTG’s programme.
Alinda is announced as winner of the prestigious IPM People Driven Growth Award for FTG’s sustained commitment to and investment in human potential.
At the turn of the century FTG demonstrates its passion for quality by obtaining ISO 9001 certification.
AVIS appoints FTG to present FTG Lifeskills countrywide. To take personal mastery to the top of the organisation, FTG develops Personal Effectiveness Progremme (PEP). In response to client requests to help employees manage their personal finances, FTG develops Money Sense. The programme quickly becomes a runaway success.
FTG partners with Tsukudu Associates to deliver a comprehensive change management intervention for the National Ports Authority (NPA). Spanning all ports of SA, FTG presents 158 workshops for 1930 employees over 3 months. StressWise is designed and delivered to Sanlam.
FREE TO GROW LAUNCHES IN KENYA
Positive Living, an inside-out HIV/AIDS awareness programme, is developed to meet the needs of several clients and subsequently implimented on a large scale by Fasset, AVIS, Barloworld Motors, Stopak & Merseta members.
Kenya Tea Development Association (KTDA) rolls out Assertiveness@Work to Tea Extension Associates from 58 factories throughout Kenya. Three new programmes are developed: Helping People Grow (Coaching), Free To Care (Customer Care) and TeamQ (Team Building).
FTG REPRESENTATION IN BOTSWANA
FTG is free to BEE – a landmark deal that increases its black shareholding to 25.1% is concluded. New Growth is created to assist employees through retrenchment and is immediately utilised by De Beers.
Reaching New Heights is created as first attempt to link employee growth to employee contribution – replaced by WorkQ® in 2011. Customise Free To Care to help 1300 UIF employees to make Ubuntu a reality in their service. Awarded the FASSET tender to deliver 52 Personal Mastery workshops in 31 locations around SA.
Helping People Grow selected by TFG to develop coaching competencies of management. Thrive! developed to equip coachees.
FTG builds capacity of management teams of 50 Department of Health hospitals across South Africa though TeamQ & StressWise. SOAR! and 4C Leadership are launched, adding a second suite, Leadership Development to FTG’s offering.
New Growth assists UN Burundi staff to adapt to drastic downsizing. FTG helps create a service-orientated culture in Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront.
Executive Chairperson, Alinda Nortje selected as a finalist for Top Woman Entrepreneur of 2010. FTG add Employee Engagement to their offering.
FTG REPRESENTED IN ZAMBIA
FTG implements first project in Asia: TeamQ, Leading Change and Changing Course for UNICEF Vietnam to assist staff to adapt to significant structural changes.
The Mount Nelson and Oude Werf Hotels are first to impliment the new WorkQ® Hospitality. WorkQ® Graduates and WorkQ® Diversity follow.
FREE TO GROW IN GHANA AND NIGERIA
Large scale employee engagement and culture change programmes for MultiChoice Africa in nine African countries. First presentation in Middle East, WorkQ® for UNICEF Iran.
Three of SABMiller’s breweries in Africa use FTG programmes countrywide to enhance engagement & performance. MultiChoice Africa explands its FTG roll out to their franchises in six African countries.
FTG establishes itself as a leader in the field of Employee Engagement with a number of clients in SA and Africa embarking on large scale / organisation wide interventions. In Africa: Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA), Nile Breweries, TFG Africa and Distell Africa. In SA: CCBSA, African Rainbow Minerals Assmang, APL Cartons, Deli Spices and Rotolabel.
Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) continue their journey with FTG by implementing our Coaching programme Helping People Grow. Still in Africa, Nile Breweries embark on an engagement journey and Kantar Consumer Insights implement Leading Change and we develop a 4 hour Fit 4 Change workshop for their staff, and Britam chooses Soar! to develop their leaders. In SA, we develop an 8-month blended learning journey – Ignite! for Haw & Inglis’ young Millennial leaders. Premier rolls out WorkQ® & LeadQ® and House of Monatic implements our 2-day LifeQ programme, aimed at growing Psychological Capital (Psycap).
Vector Logistics and Imperial Fast ‘n Fresh choose FTG as their Employee Engagement partner. Free To Grow becomes a Black Owned Business with a 51.32% black shareholding.
FREE TO GROW REPRESENTATION IN MALAWI
We continue our journey with the leaders of Vector. The impact of the whole intervention is so positive that the scope expands to Vector Finance and RCL Foods Chicken Processing and Consumer Groceries. Tjaart Minnaar joins the Free To Grow leadership team and the 2Collaborate consortium, comprising Free To Grow, Weben & Partners and Pure Solutions, is born. Our offering is further enhanced by TeamConnect. Free To Grow launches its Coaching Business Unit, headed up by Jo Thomson.
FREE TO GROW REPRESENTATION IN TANZANIA