Devan Moonsamy is a seasoned trainer, entrepreneur, and charity worker. Upon leaving high school, Devan started a training initiative to help school teachers struggling with heavy workloads and another to help youths build self-confidence.
From these early years, Devan built ICHAF, a training and development business, which focusses keenly on the needs of South African employers and employees, which are not only unique to the nation, but especially to the needs of the individual. Devan understands the diverse composition of today’s South African workforce, and how to cater to the variety of needs. In fact, Devan has made it his mission to understand diversity in the South African workplace, to master diversity management, and to teach the skills and knowledge of diversity management to as many corporates as possible.
Over more than 15 years, Devan and trainers from his company have together developed and trained thousands of staff members from large companies such as Norton Rose Fullbright, Peermont Global, Barloworld, Avis Budget Group and many others. The company offers training in fields such as NQF1 to NQF5 Learnerships, business administration, business practices, leadership, IT, ethics, as well as conflict management and diversity management, the latter two being among Devan’s specialities. In addition to training across South Africa, Devan has worked in other African nations and in Asia.
Devan is outspoken about diversity in South Africa because he has been witness to the inequality and discrimination which plagues its people. He believes that every South African should be involved in bridging these divides. He thus promotes healthy diversity and inclusion practices in the corporate environment through his Seta-accredited TVET institution.
Devan found his niche in training and development through an affinity for public speaking, motivational speaking, and relationship management. A strong desire to see others grow and succeed in their careers and in their personal development has driven him to invest his time and energies in the training sector.
Through the success of his training programmes, Devan has created a vibrant network of fellow trainers, education experts, SETA officials, and a wide variety of other professionals who assist him in designing and delivering ever more quality and in-depth training interventions and programmes. Devan works towards creating a productive corporate learning and development space for all clients.
What gets Devan going every day is his drive to see South Africans diversity relations improve. Racism, sexism, classism, and other forms of discrimination still plague our relationships and society. Devan understands that the only way to really overcome these problems is to open up dialogue, appeal to people’s reason, and bring diverse groups together so that they can learn to get along. With the right guidance, which Devan strives to offer, we will be able to be a more cohesive nation, one to be proud of.
As businesses and their employees, from executives to new recruits, have a significant impact on the rest of society, achieving healthy diversity relations free of discrimination in the workplace will have a systemic positive effect on the rest of South Africa. Currently, diversity relations in the workplace are often mediocre at best or sometimes very tense, and this needs to change urgently. To achieve better relationships in spite of interpersonal differences, more diversity and inclusion training sessions are required as well as workshops to encourage people to take up leadership positions and perform well therein. Devan thus provides these training sessions and workshops.
Devan was born in KwaZulu-Natal and later moved to Johannesburg with his family. He completed high school in Benoni. Devan has two older sisters, Evon Naicker and Evellin Naidoo, both of whom work closely with him at the ICHAF Training Institute in facilitation and administration. Devan, through the ICHAF Training Institute and devan-moonsamy.com, employs facilitators, assessors’ moderators and administration staff, all of whom he considers to be extensions of his family. Devan enjoys travelling and recently visited Hong Kong, Nepal, Thailand and Brazil. Other favourite destinations are Namibia for its wonderful wildlife and landscapes, India for its temples and culture, and Nepal for relaxation and meditation spaces. Devan is family-oriented and values life-long learning. He is thus currently completing a degree in psychology. He also has studied toward an LLB at UNISA and has other diplomas and qualifications in occupationally directed education, training and development practices, generic management, strategic management, and business administration.