Swiss global technology company ABB hosted learners from Alexandra and Thembisa to help them navigate potential career opportunities at its plant at the Longmeadow Business Estate on June 23.
The learners came from Minerva Secondary School in Alexandra and their Thembisa counterparts came from Eqinisweni Secondary School. Together they were treated to testimonies from 60-plus graduates that have graced various departments since 2020 from engineers to financial analysts.
Aligned with Youth Month, ABB’s Human Resources Director Mervin Munsamy said their skills development programme is top of mind and that the career event was important to demystify misconceptions about the industry as it ensures the hiring of female engineers, people living with disabilities and people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“We ensure that our employees, as part of their development activities, become members of the bodies related to their area of specialisation such as the Engineering Council of South Africa and other professional bodies. We pride ourselves on the high standard of output we deliver,” Munsamy said.
He added that the graduate programme was divided into two- namely human resources support such as logistics, finance, supply chain, marketing, and IT, and the engineering side which comprises mostly electrical, computer systems, mechanical, industrial and mechatronics.
One of the graduates from Alexandra is Nthabiseng Manana, a finance global trainee whose responsibilities include standardising and implementing accounting and reporting according to US GAAP guidelines or SOX controls, managing overdue accounts, analysing financial and risk information, preparing rolling forecasts, and planning budgets and annual performance.
Manana, who currently holds a 2013 National Diploma in Accounting from the University of Johannesburg and a Bachelor of Accounting in Taxation from the University of South Africa in 2019, works abroad and hops from country to country, narrated her poor background growing up in a poverty-stricken township to her phenomenal rise to a global citizen.
She has a 2013 National Diploma in Accounting from the University of Johannesburg. Having applied to numerous graduate programmes without success, she felt she needed to improve her chances. As a result, she completed her Bachelor of Accounting in Taxation from the University of South Africa in 2019.
“The ABB graduate programme has enabled me to broaden my horizons by not only providing me with a deeper understanding of the company but also allowing me to develop an excellent network and choose from an extensive curriculum,” Nthabiseng said.
Tebogo Seemela is a business controller for the corporate and process automation business areas and a team lead at Helping Hands. Her role involves partnering with colleagues in human resources, supply chain and information systems to oversee business and financial operations.
Seemela, who holds a Master of Commerce in Economics from the University of Limpopo, is also responsible for preparing management accounts, financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting, ensuring the accuracy of financial reporting, and analysing cost drivers to mitigate any adverse deviations and take advantage of potential opportunities.
“My passion is to analyse numbers, understand what they mean, see the impact they have on the organisation, and how one can derive solutions and identify opportunities that influence business decisions that add value to the organisation,” she said.
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