Academy prepares students for world of work

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Hands-on learning: Students at work at Samsungs Electronics Engineering Academy in Boksburg.

Theo Garrun

The ongoing inadequacy of maths and science education in the country poses serious staff-planning challenges for technology companies, with many realising that they need to be proactive and ensure their supply of skilled personnel for the years to come.

That’s the view of Ntutule Tshenye, head of corporate citizenship at Samsung Electronics SA.

He has been responsible for setting up the company’s Electronics Engineering Academy project.

It is a learning facility in Boksburg where young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are prepared for work at the company’s partner institutions – their call centre, service centres and assembly plant.

Tshenye says that while the project forms part of Samsung’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitment, it is what he calls “new generation corporate citizenship”.

“Traditionally, CSR has been a reactive exercise, aimed at meeting existing needs in the community, and there is a need for that.

“But we believe our projects must be sustainable and there must be a strong business case for the work we do.

“So we decided to focus on skills development and preparation for the world of work and, at the same time, ensure that we have enough properly trained and qualified workers to meet our own needs in the years to come.”

The Samsung Electronics Engineering Academy was born out of the inability of the education system to produce skilled workers, who can be employed and productive, from the start, in a technology-rich environment.

“The numbers of maths and science graduates coming out of the schools is woefully inadequate to start with.

“And the standards of post-school education in the vocational and technical fields are very low,” says Tshenye.

Particularly problematic are the further education and training colleges, institutions that are supposed to produce workers of this calibre.

“Typically, they supply training that is outdated, and don’t have access to the latest technology and equipment. So, their graduates are unemployable, because they cannot add value in organisations that manufacture and service equipment that is two or three generations ahead of that which they learnt on.”

To ensure sustainability, the skills taught have to be aligned to industry requirements, so they are those required in Samsung’s partner environment.

“The curriculum and the training manuals are the standard ones used by Samsung for those who work on the products worldwide.

“And we are working on Saqa accreditation to make the qualifications portable.

“We have entered partnerships with educational institutions – notably the Ekurhuleni Further Education and Training College – and with community organisations, and our Boksburg facility has been running since last year.”

The objective is to match the scarce skills requirements of industry so that 100 percent of the graduating class can be employed in Samsung’s institutions.

The pass mark is high, but of the class of 2011, 40 graduated and Samsung now employs 26 of them.

“We encourage those graduates, who are capable, to go on to university to continue studying.

“And some of those who are entrepreneurially inclined choose to work for themselves.”

The Boksburg academy was the first of three Samsung established.

There are similar facilities in Nairobi and Lagos and two more are in the pipeline – in Ethiopia and Ivory Coast.

“The plan is that by 2015 Samsung South Africa will be manufacturing products, not just assembling them, as we are doing now.

“By then we will need 10 000 technicians throughout Africa

“So there is a business reason for what we are doing, but it is precisely that which makes the project sustainable.

“We also believe that service excellence makes for more sales.

“Therefore, we need as many capable service technicians out there as we can produce.”

The students come from the community.

The academy has a partnership with the Ekurhuleni college and provides the practical training component for students doing electronics.

They also run a school project which sees pupils in grades 10, 11 and 12 attend the academy, with the aim of preparing them for a formal qualification once they leave school.

“It’s a requirement that they perform at school as well, so we give them assistance with, especially, their maths and science work.”