Refinery commits to R18-m to skills training
70 lucky students have been selected to take part in the programme has so far benefited 430 young adults.
THE youth of Durban South are given an R18 – million opportunity of a lifetime to further their education and training with SAPREF.
The oil refinery runs a skills development programme which focuses on creating opportunities by offering bursaries for university studies in engineering, artisan training via the Durban South Training Trust (DSTT), learnerships at SAPREF’s accredited training college, a graduate engineer programme, internships and a school talent pipeline programme.
Some 70 lucky students have been selected to take part in the programme which has been running for several years and has benefited 430 young adults so far.
Lindiwe Khuzwayo, SAPREF’s human resource manager said: “Through this integrated programme, SAPREF aims to play its part in addressing the shortage of technical and engineering skills in the country, while addressing our own business need for highly skilled professionals. The programme is part of a broader social responsibility programme through which we aim to make a meaningful contribution to neighbouring communities, to our industry and the country,” she added.
Being selected as a talent pipeline student is a great honour for two Wentworth high school pupils, it is a dream to come true. Grade 10 pupils from Umbilo Secondary, Jamie-Lee Niemack and Casey Lee are determined to work hard and make sure their grades are kept up to standard. Both aspire to become chemical engineers. ” We are excited but this means the hard work starts now. We will make SAPREF proud and reach for our goals,” said Niemack.
Christopher Perumal from Athlone Park, a previous talent pipeline student and SAPREF bursary holder who has recently been employed at SAPREF as a graduate engineer, says being part of the various SAPREF skills development programmes over the last seven years has been an eye-opener. “With the financial burden alleviated, I was able to pursue my dream of being an engineer without much stress. I was also exposed to SAPREF’s operations through my mentor and through vacation work which was a great experience, one that I hope to build on now as a SAPREF employee,” he says.
He thanks SAPREF for their immense gratitude and having faith in his abilities. “Education is hardwork to success and I advise the new incoming pipeline students to start working from day one, be consistent and lead a balanced life. Failure is not an option,” he added.
In addition to the bursary programme, seventy youngsters have been accepted into the SAPREF refinery learnership programme resulting in a total of 285 learners in the various learnerships. Trainees on this programme comprises of matriculants, students from FET colleges and learners doing in-service training, having completed their studies at Universities of Technology. The learnerships are structured such that learners obtain maximum practical technical skills to supplement their theoretical knowledge, thus ensuring that the learners that complete these programmes are immediately employable within the petrochemical and other industries.
