Paving the way for women empowerment
Since her promotion in 2019, she has assisted over 20 women with training and placements at Veer Steel Mills.
Thabile Lukhele (29) from Tsietsi section, Katlehong, worked her way up the ranks in the steel industry and aims to empower more women in what was once deemed a male-dominated industry.
She came to Johannesburg in 2011 to enroll in studies in business information of technology at the University of Johannesburg. Although Lukhele holds a B-tech qualification in IT, she took the opportunity to intern with Scaw Metals as an administrator.
After interning for three years between 2015 and 2017, Lukhele moved to Veer Steel Mills where she was an administrator at the training centre for one year before she was promoted to training manager.
Since her promotion in 2019, she has assisted over 20 women with training and placements at Veer Steel Mills.
“My biggest achievement in 2019 was to create opportunities for women. We didn’t have any females at the manufacturing plant, excluding the HR department.
“It is the first time we have so many ladies working in various departments, and I am very proud of the progress. We will absorb more in March,” said Lukhele.
She said her goal is to empower the youth, especially women considering that some of them do not have experience and qualifications,” she added.
“When we do production technology, we need Grade 11, so we offer them training and job placement. The company offers a 12-month leadership, internship, and four-year apprenticeship.”
The requirement for the learnership in production technology is Grade 11 for level two and Grade 12 for level three and four.
Internship applicants need a national diploma or degree in mechanical, metallurgy, electrical, HR, or admin, while apprenticeship requires a minimum of N3 level in fitter, turner, or electrical.
The admin manager plans to further her studies in IT this year.
“When I moved to Veer Steel Mills I worked as an administration as I already had experience in that field, not in IT.
“But this has not changed my love for IT because I still make contributions to the IT department at Veer Steel Mills.
I offer support with ERS biometrics, which mostly deals with enrolment and data capturing,” said Lukhele.
Her way up the ladder was not an easy one. Her daughter, Minenhle, was born last year while she was studying towards her national diploma. With support from her parents, she completed the course.
