Congratulations to EXL and Ardagh on winning the Innovation in Employability Award. They’ve earned this recognition by trusting young talent with senior roles and creating pathways to life-changing income.
Pathways at pace. When industry demand is clear and the right partners align, pathways become pipelines. Ardagh and EXL, joint winners of the Innovation in Employability award, partnered with CAPACITI to design and deliver accelerated talent pathways that now support a global IT Centre of Excellence (CoE) based in Cape Town.
About the award
The Innovation in Employability category recognises partners who introduce new approaches to skills development and employment, turning ideas into repeatable models that scale.
The partnership story
Following Ardagh’s 2022 acquisition of Consol Glass (now Ardagh Glass Packaging – Africa), the group set out to establish a Cape Town-based Global CoE to support IT services across Europe, the Americas and Africa. Ardagh leaders travelled to Cape Town to lay the groundwork with EXL and CAPACITI, meeting CoE candidates in training and shaping a purpose-built pipeline that could deliver at pace. The excitement among trainees was palpable – raw potential becoming skilled employees.
We are incredibly proud of our partners, EXL and Ardagh, recipients of the Innovation in Employability Award. This recognition honors the powerful model they’ve helped create: placing graduates into critical IT roles, forging pathways into advanced disciplines like cybersecurity, and accelerating progression into senior positions.
The Impact
- A talent development pipeline launched, with concurrent programmes, to meet ongoing demand.
- Graduates placed into critical IT roles, with clear pathways into cybersecurity and other advanced disciplines.
- Substantial salaries earned to jumpstart sustainable livelihoods.
- Accelerated progression of candidates moving into senior roles.
- A repeatable co-design model linking industry demand, training design and role outcomes.
- 77% certification rate, demonstrating strong learning outcomes and programme quality
- 74% placed in permanent employment, translating training into real economic opportunity
- Average monthly salary of R10,563.38, reflecting meaningful income uplift for graduates
- 73 candidates trained, equipping candidates with in-demand, job-ready skills
Why it matters
This partnership shows how purposeful convening and co-design can shift perceptions of talent. By investing in potential and aligning learning to live business needs, Ardagh and EXL have demonstrated how global service quality and local opportunity can grow together.
Looking ahead
We will keep iterating with Ardagh and EXL to match evolving skills needs, expanding disciplines and strengthening the CoE’s talent pipeline. If your organisation is exploring similar models, the CAPACITI team would be glad to share lessons and co-design the right pathway.
