Reason # 46 a PICTURE paints a thousand words Series ~15 EJFI
I’ve often been told that people don’t "quite" understand what I “do” professionally. As if my career is some sort of a mystery...
In hindsight, that might have been a blessing. I’ve never liked being put into boxes. Once people can label you by your profession, it becomes easier for them to summarize you, assume they understand you, and neatly place you into one of their tidy little categories. They will say as confirmation: "So jy is n..." and there they go!
But here we go (smile), let me enlighten you and offer you some background to my studies and career.
(It is really not such a big mystery after all!)
I started by studying Theology and Psychology at the University of Stellenbosch. And although
I was eventually ordained as a Full Pastor with United Life Church, I changed my major to Social
Sciences in my second year at varsity, and therefore also did Modules in
Social Work, Sociology and Afrikaans Cultural History in addition to
Psychology, which already equipped me well as a future counselor and manager.
Shortly after my compulsory conscription Army service, I realized that the new route in Social Science Disciplines was that of Social Entrepreneur and because of my love for people I started my own business which I called: Ernest John & Friends International.(EJFI)
The name was a play on my own baptismal name (Ernest) - derived from Erasmus Johannes. But the "Erasmus Johannes" part was always difficult for my International clients to pronounce. So I rather used Ernest John.
I was fortunate to quickly acquire clients in Europe and the USA via CEF (a project I started to work part-time with).
Back to the name of EJFI again - I must mention that the name was also derived from my love for people and I had the vision that I would not only have clients, but also make friends of them. Sadly this is not always such a good strategy for business - as I found out the hard way. Because as a result of my leniency and too much "friendliness", many of these clients cum "friends" cheated me out of millions of rands over the years. For a long time I would suffer greatly and suffer losses as a result of my bitter naivety.
(But those are the lessons of life for you - and as we have often said in this blog, it is not only about money, it is also about the lessons you came to learn and how your soul gets expanded by all the hardships and challenges of life...)
Anyway back to my profession.
Ernest John & Friends International, EJFI was mainly a consulting business
that provided the following services:
. Training Consulting in particular Alternative
Qualification methodology
. Counseling & Life Coaching
. Spirituality focused on conducting weddings with a huge focus on spirituality and ritual. (EJFI also consulted to enhance religious tolerance.)
. Moderating Projects - Evaluation & Monitoring, Compliance & Fiduciary Duties of businesses and organizations.
. Systems and Integration, HR & Talent management.
. Residential, Industry & Campus Site Development.
It all became quite an eclectic bunch, but the main theme was to use skills to help foster Alternative Trendsetting projects, and to help individuals and projects reach their full potential utilizing new technologies and infrastructure in a ever changing Global environment.
However, my great passion has always been the establishment of Alternative training programs and qualifications prior to and at Tertiary level. Qualifications that I believed should be of the highest international standard, but trendsetting and much more user-friendly for students and industries alike.
(This core calling/passion crossed my path when one of my early projects demanded some form of "Work-integrated-Learning" upskilling processes. I quickly took to this challenge like a fish to water with a feeling of "This is what I was born to do" settling deep within me.)
This field was also rapidly emerging in ZA after the 1994 elections, with the new Rainbow Nation eager to equip its diverse citizens for the various economical challenges ahead. Many exciting opportunities came my way which later lead to close co-operation with the ISAE (International School of Adult Education). The ISAE has a long history, being established in the 1950s already. To continue their long-standing pioneering work on Articulation and upskilling, EJFI & partners helped with their rebranding and reinvention.
Later I also established WTI (World Training International) to fill in gaps not catered for by ISAE. Together we were well equipped to consult in diverse Training fields. We were proud to be the official Training Service provider for the World Trade Centre ZA and head up their training departments in Africa. As a result the Afrique Consulting Group was created.
Because many of the deserving students we help, experience
financial challenges regarding paying for studies, we also started to focus on
scholarship development and therefore established the NPO Hope Foundation
International.
Shortly after 2001 I was invited to became part of programs at the University of Stellenbosch in an Associate Capacity. Many initiatives was established as a result of this. I worked closely with the SEED Trust, Maties Social Impact, CapsitUS and other Knowledge Partner groups. Post the completion of my PhD in 2010 (which highlighted the importance of International Global Accreditation) collaboration with many other international university followed with invitations to participate in Global training programs.
And so all the flagships were built to navigate the global ocean currents of a new emerging international training environment - ever changing and always exchanging skills. My PhD thesis called: "Alternative Tertiary Obtaining Methodologies" (in short ATOM) became for me the splitting of the Atom all over again - this time only in the exciting, much needed field of Alternative Adult Education.
A Picture tells a thousand words or more... Thank you FRIENDS INTERNATIONAL (the good & bad)
03 July 2025
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