The project TLS Angola, managed by National Institute for the Support of Small and Medium Enterprises (INAPEM) and part of the Support Program for Production, Export Diversification and Import Replacement (PRODESI), was conducted by members of the Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP) and LBC. This project, of great visibility in the country, intended to contribute to the increase and reinforcement of productivity and competitiveness in Angola through a new look at its business fabric, using three main methodologies: Theory of Constraints (ToC), Lean and Six Sigma , forming the acronym TLS.

This vision focused on the future materializes, in the short term, in the commitment to (young) Angolan talent and the increase in operational excellence through solid training and a more efficient allocation of resources, contributing to increasing the employability of the younger layer of the qualified population.

The project involved training and certification in TLS of 150 young graduates using training in a virtual environment and subsequent allocation of certified young people to 75 SMEs for diagnosis and implementation of TLS solutions in SMEs in Angola that applied. To achieve these results, the project was structured in 3 main phases, detailed below.

The created platform, based on LBC's proprietary platform, SmartEcoBiz, was tailored to the customer to SmartTLS, generating an ecosystem of companies, qualified young people, a pool of online trainers and a space dedicated to technical assistance for sharing experiences and implementation tools. For this adaptation, it was essential to use a robot developed by LBC, which allowed substantial efficiency gains in the creation of the virtual ecosystem. The created robot interpreted emails and other data and created, updated and configured users. In addition to this task, it analyzed the performance of the participants and awarded certificates.

1. Training and certification of +150 young people through a fully digital training environment

The Ministry of Economy and Planning carried out a recruitment process at universities, having identified 169 young recent graduates who embraced this learning journey. For these young people, a TLS training plan was designed with 7 topics and 27 subtopics and a workload of 85 hours (50 hours synchronous and 35 hours asynchronous). Synchronous training took place in a virtual environment using MS Teams, with sessions recorded, and several complementary training resources were developed, namely an e-learning portal containing videos, practical exercises, knowledge tests, automatic issuing of certificates, among others. others, made possible by the SmartTLS platform and which makes it possible to reinforce the ecosystem, and the continuity of the initiative, even after the end of the initial project.

2. Assessment and diagnosis of the SME business and Smart Matching of certified young people and SME.

These young people, previously identified, underwent a minimum attendance rate and passed mandatory knowledge tests in order to receive the Smart TLS certificate. Young people who were certified were provided with a Smart Matching survey that measured their availability and preference in terms of the SMEs that were available to receive them, with a matching being carried out between young people and companies that considered their performance in training, their soft skills, but also your preferences. At the same time, a diagnostic assessment was carried out to understand their business and recommend the most appropriate solution for each SME.

3. Implementation of TLS solutions using guidance and tools in a virtual environment.

The third and last component involved an internship for groups of young people in the companies to which they were allocated. His internship tried to implement, in a real context, the TLS tools that were apprehended in the theoretical training, being these responsible for applying the tools to the reality of the SME to which they were allocated, with the support of the experienced team of LBC and supported by the Smart platform TLS that had available all the implementation methodology and the respective resources and information necessary for a good implementation in a real context and adapted to the reality of each company.

Below, we present some of the testimonies of young talents that reflect the relevance of this initiative for their careers:

1. “Training in TLS was a differentiator in my life, today I can apply ToC  (Theory of Constraints) in my everyday life, just like Mr. Minister stressed, whenever I come across a limitation, I am already thinking that I have to apply the ToC, see what the restriction is. On the go, ATM, at home, etc. “
   
2. “A training for life. Super happy, I recommend it to people who have the possibility to do it, because we don't just apply it in companies, but also in our lives. A commendable initiative, I am blessed to be part of this team! Force. "
   
3. “It was a very interesting training, I had a negative perception at first, especially when it was said that it would be online, but the team in general changed my way of thinking, and mainly they made me believe that the impossible can be possible, just believe and strive, I was able to learn a lot, especially about n things that I was not even aware of, regarding the identification of restrictions, and finally, I just have to thank MEP, LBC, and INAPEM, Thank you.”
   
4.  “It was very fruitful, since the team is endowed with excellent professionals, full of knowledge and a lot of pedagogy, I found very good colleagues that I am proud to be part of because we are not done yet. Thank you very much for your patience and for sharing your knowledge.”
   
5.  “Acquired knowledge, which in the past did not give as much importance or relevance that I will give from now on. I will study more to have the ability to speak and execute with a lot of propriety because it is an asset for my professional growth. Thank you LBC.”
   
6. “TLS has changed my way of thinking!…”

Below, we present some of the testimonies of young talents that reflect the relevance of this initiative for their companies:

1. "Our company became aware that it must follow a concrete objective.”
   
2. “Participating in the project allowed a systematic approach to the identified problem, a situation that under normal conditions would not have happened and certainly with different results.”
   
3. “The TLS project had its merits. We managed to frame the existing restrictions and those that with the Smart TLS team we were able to discover.”
   
4. “One of the positive factors is the interaction that existed between experts and mentors (young graduates) with companies and managers. The expertise of experts. The mentors knew how to apply everything they were taught.”
   
5. “The Smart TLS project enlightened us in the preparation and follow-up of the stages for formalizing a project or structuring a company, giving us the knowledge bases and tools to better understand the development of activities, helping to predict the resolution of conflicts. “