We spoke to Joash Narainsamy, Manager: Sales and Marketing at AXA ICAS International, to gain his insights into the benefits of ICAS Southern Africa partnering with EAPA-SA as an Eduweek sponsor.
Q: What is the company’s purpose, vision and mission?
We believe that by investing in an organisation’s human capital, one invests in the organisation’s growth and productivity. ICAS’s vision is to be Africa’s innovative leader of people-focused solutions, resulting in improved organisational productivity and profitability. Our mission is to deliver quality people-focused solutions that contribute to the value of our clients’ workforce through the tailored application of our data intelligence, technology, experience and our flexible approach.
 Q: What is the primary reason that ICAS partners with EAPA-SA to sponsor Eduweek?
EAPA is the leading authority on employee assistance and mental health in the workplace. The direction, and conversations, that EAPA-SA is able to spark helps to set the tone for our industry in South Africa and beyond. Being such an influential force, ICAS Southern Africa sees EAPA-SA as a strategic partner with whom we can make a tangible impact within the broader industry.
“EAPA is the leading authority on employee assistance and mental health in the workplace”- Joash Narainsamy, Manager: Sales and Marketing at AXA ICAS InternationalÂ
Q: How did you find the Eduweek 2019 experience?
Eduweek 2019 was the singular most impactful event within the EAP industry in South Africa! The bleeding edge ideas, thought leadership and conversations had with industry experts, clients and other stakeholders truly added value not just to ICAS, but to our clients, too.
 Q: What key information are you taking away from Eduweek 2019?
The evidence of how physical health converges with mental health is becoming clearer, and it is clear that these two fields are inextricably linked and can no longer be seen in isolation; but they need to be fully integrated in order to provide a holistic support mechanism for today’s workforce.
 Q: How do you feel that Eduweek benefits the EAP industry in South Africa – and beyond?
It helps set the tone for trends to come; and not just trends, but also best practice that is able to make a meaningful impact on EAP practitioners, the employees who access the EAP and the clients who trust us to deliver an EAP to their stakeholders.
 Q: How do you envisage an annual gathering of the EAP industry at EAPA-SA Eduweek contributing to South Africa reaching the country’s NDP 2030 goals over the next ten years?
The EAP industry is uniquely poised to shape how corporate South Africa views diversity, inclusion and belonging. Through our understanding of the human condition and how to best support people within the working world, we’re able to make valuable contributions that can change policies, practices and behaviours into effective strategies that help to support the NDP 2030 goals.
ICAS
ICAS is a global business that started in the UK in 1986 and opened its South African office in 1998. Today, ICAS Southern Africa services more than 600 organisations across the continent and in industries ranging from government, finance, technology, industrial and consumer services, among others. ICAS provides the most comprehensive range of preventative care and counselling services in the country and for over 20 years has remained a trusted South African provider of people-focused solutions, mitigating risks and putting business and employee wellbeing first. .