POLOKWANE – Jack of all trades and master of many, that is how one could describe Jason Delport, local businessman and all-round achiever.
The multi-talented 31-year-old is not only the Managing Director of Emcare, a business his mother built from the ground up, he is also a mountain bike champion, software engineer, and business owner with a wealth of knowledge.
Emcare is a flourishing business that has provided training for paramedics for the past 10 years.
Jason says he learned the importance of hard work at a young age, he owned a transporting company at the age of 19.
He joined Emcare shortly after selling his transport business and has slowly worked his way up the ranks.
Hard work is nothing new to him as he developed his love for mountain biking, winning the South African mountain biking champion title at the age of 13, a title he kept for five years. His mountain bike achievements were not limited to South African soil only as he was crowned the fourth best mountain bike rider in the world.
He describes himself as a person with determination, dedication and someone who wants things to be right.
“I get angry when there are people who do not do things the right way. I believe to either do things right or to not do them at all,” he says.
Jason adds that even though there is a high demand for facilities that offer training for paramedics, growing the company to add better courses is a challenge as they struggle with relation to registration procedures and documentation.
“There always seems to be some form of a delay and this is something I view as very negative in the business world,” he adds. Along with that, he continues, people often lose interest in becoming a paramedic after a year and choose a different career path, leaving the demand for paramedics very high.
“Being a paramedic is a job that takes a high toll on people, with many of the things they see staying with them forever.
“These traumatising experiences have the possibility of causing mental issues later in life,” he explains. “You should have strong willpower to deal with trauma on accident scenes.
“It really is life changing.”
Besides from the training company, Jason also developed a certificate verification programme to recognise fraudulent certificates.
Mostly, he says, his days consist of meetings and a lot of travelling, however, when he is not at work he enjoys endurance off road motorbiking and relaxing at home with his wife and children.
His plans for the future include expanding the business, offering more levels of training and buying an ambulance service to operate in the city.
Jason’s advice to those entering the business world is to remember that the lower your overheads are the more money you make. “The secret is to keep your overheads low and keep the profits high, overheads kill businesses,” he advises.