VANDERBIJLPARK. – There were tears of joy and celebration in many Emfuleni and other Gauteng communities surrounding ArcelorMittal South Africa plants earlier this year as the company took in 500 young men and women as learners and apprentices.
Despite heavy burdens due to an internationally depressed steel economy, steel giant ArcelorMittal South Africa has stuck firmly to its Emfuleni social investment and sectoral skills development agenda by taking in the 500 from Gauteng’s most impoverished regions.
The group forms part of the company’s Apprenticeship and Metals Production Learnership Programme, which in turn is a pillar of ArcelorMittal South Africa’s Steel Masterplan to meet both the steel sector skills demand, but also to fit with a growing green economy.
The 500 have already started work, ArcelorMittal South Africa has confirmed, and will include the upskilling of 100 electrical apprentices in solar photovoltaics as stand-alone service technicians for the company’s own 200 MW Solar Farm, currently under construction in
Vanderbijlpark.
Amongst the 500 newly-employed are 18 sourced from one of ArcelorMittal South Africa’s most successful and long-running social investment projects, the ArcelorMittal Foundation Science Centre in Sebokeng – well-known to almost a generation of high school learners, thousands of whom have attended the Centre over the years for a firm Science rounding.
“As a substantial contributor to skills development in the industry, ArcelorMittal South Africa has volunteered to pursue pathways that will allow us to leverage our skills development capabilities to broaden the Company’s pipeline to serve the broader sector.
“To that end discussions were held with the Department of Trade, Industry and competition, as well as MerSETA (Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services) to develop an expanded Apprenticeship and Metals Production Learnership Programme,” said ArcelorMittal South Africa.
The programme is fully funded by the MerSETA.
Many of the new learners expressed their gratitude – and that of their families – for the ArcelorMittal South Africa programme, which will run for 30 months and started in January 2024, with some joining in March.
“ArcelorMittal South Africa has always been there as an iconic industry especially to us from places like Sebokeng and Evaton and has always been referred to as the Steel Giant – but now we know that the Steel Giant has a heart of gold,” said one learner.
500 new learners for industry skills development at ArcelorMittal
Despite heavy burdens due to an internationally depressed steel economy, steel giant ArcelorMittal South Africa has stuck firmly to its Emfuleni social investment and sectoral skills development agenda by taking in the 500 from Gauteng’s most impoverished regions.
