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ArcelorMittal South Africa to Partner with Department of Education
02/05/2009 - ArcelorMittal South Africa and the South Africa Department of Education announced the formation of a partnership to build ten new schools throughout the country using new steel technology.
ArcelorMittal South Africa and the South Africa Department of Education have announced their formation of a partnership to build ten new schools throughout the country using new steel technology. The two parties recently kicked off their program with a sod-turning at the new primary school for the pupils and community of Mamelodi (in Tshwane).
Construction of Mamelodi Primary, which is scheduled for completion by the end of the year, will be followed by the construction of an additional nine schools—one school for each province and two in the Eastern Cape. The remaining nine schools will be built over the next seven years depending on guidelines provided by the department of education and economic circumstances. The schools program is valued at an estimated R250 million, with the Mamelodi primary projected to cost R39 million. The schools will be built using steel supplied by ArcelorMittal South Africa.
For ArcelorMittal, the Mamelodi project is another crucial pillar in its strategy of investing heavily in skills development, training and education. This strategy includes promoting math and science skills at high schools; an extensive endowment program for artisans, engineers and other technical vocations; and upgrading the skills of its own employees.
According to the company, this investment helps to ensure that it has a pool of skilled resources for its own operations, and also contributes to addressing the skills shortage in the country in general. Under government’s Jipsa programme ArcelorMittal is one of the companies that has committed itself to producing more artisans than it needs for its own businesses.
“Our core business relies heavily the availability of skilled people in the scientific, engineering and technological sectors as well as artisans,” explained the company’s CEO, Nonkululeko Nyembezi-Heita. “The key pillar of our skills policy – and that of JIPSA – is to align tertiary education and other institutional training with the actual skills required by both the public and private sectors.”
To date, the company’s multi-million rand investment strategy has been a successful one, with ArcelorMittal South Africa having been recognized as a corporate leader in the field of skills development and training.
The company is particularly proud of its R28-million investment in Science Centres in Sebokeng and Saldanha. The Science Centre in Sebokeng, opened in 2006, offers pupils access to classrooms, science laboratories, state-of-the-art computer centers and interactive science exhibitions and offers curriculum-linked science and mathematics instruction. It has helped to produce a higher-than-average pass rate among graduates in the area last year. Fifteen successful graduates received ArcelorMittal bursaries, including five bursars studying engineering at universities. The Saldanha centre was only opened in December 2008.
“ArcelorMittal is focused on developing a strong mathematics, science and technology culture amongst schools,” commented Nyembezi-Heita. “The company’s array of education initiatives is geared toward improving education within targeted communities, promoting scientific literacy and enhancing performance at secondary school level in order to benefit the wider economy.
Construction of Mamelodi Primary, which is scheduled for completion by the end of the year, will be followed by the construction of an additional nine schools—one school for each province and two in the Eastern Cape. The remaining nine schools will be built over the next seven years depending on guidelines provided by the department of education and economic circumstances. The schools program is valued at an estimated R250 million, with the Mamelodi primary projected to cost R39 million. The schools will be built using steel supplied by ArcelorMittal South Africa.
For ArcelorMittal, the Mamelodi project is another crucial pillar in its strategy of investing heavily in skills development, training and education. This strategy includes promoting math and science skills at high schools; an extensive endowment program for artisans, engineers and other technical vocations; and upgrading the skills of its own employees.
According to the company, this investment helps to ensure that it has a pool of skilled resources for its own operations, and also contributes to addressing the skills shortage in the country in general. Under government’s Jipsa programme ArcelorMittal is one of the companies that has committed itself to producing more artisans than it needs for its own businesses.
“Our core business relies heavily the availability of skilled people in the scientific, engineering and technological sectors as well as artisans,” explained the company’s CEO, Nonkululeko Nyembezi-Heita. “The key pillar of our skills policy – and that of JIPSA – is to align tertiary education and other institutional training with the actual skills required by both the public and private sectors.”
To date, the company’s multi-million rand investment strategy has been a successful one, with ArcelorMittal South Africa having been recognized as a corporate leader in the field of skills development and training.
The company is particularly proud of its R28-million investment in Science Centres in Sebokeng and Saldanha. The Science Centre in Sebokeng, opened in 2006, offers pupils access to classrooms, science laboratories, state-of-the-art computer centers and interactive science exhibitions and offers curriculum-linked science and mathematics instruction. It has helped to produce a higher-than-average pass rate among graduates in the area last year. Fifteen successful graduates received ArcelorMittal bursaries, including five bursars studying engineering at universities. The Saldanha centre was only opened in December 2008.
“ArcelorMittal is focused on developing a strong mathematics, science and technology culture amongst schools,” commented Nyembezi-Heita. “The company’s array of education initiatives is geared toward improving education within targeted communities, promoting scientific literacy and enhancing performance at secondary school level in order to benefit the wider economy.
“This investment in primary education in a way completes the circle and we now have a fully integrated education and skills strategy in place upon which we can structure future investments.”
Mamelodi Primary School will be built using insulated panels technology, which relies heavily on steel as a building material. It can withstand extreme weather conditions, is fire resistant and ten times faster to erect than using conventional building technologies. This will be the first such application for South Africa.
