Skills development and representation are integral to ABB as a company. âThey are top of mind, while inclusive learning is important. We demystify misconceptions about our industry and ensure we hire female engineers, people living with disabilities and people from disadvantaged backgrounds,â says Mervin Munsamy, Human Resources Director for ABB.
âWe ensure that our employees, as part of their development activities, become members of the bodies related to their area of specialisation. We pride ourselves on the high standard of output we deliver,â says Mervin. For example, a programme is in place to assist engineers to become professionally registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa.
Such has been the success of ABBâs graduate programme that, from 2020 to date, 60 graduates have been permanently employed at the technology leader. In addition, 80% of the candidates from the companyâs training programmes have found gainful employment, which amounts to about 60 to 70 people. âOur aim as an engineering company is to afford all youth the opportunity to enter our industry ⊠including disabled people,â says Mervin.
The graduate programme is divided into two, namely support (HR, logistics, finance, supply chain, marketing, and IT, to mention but a few) and engineering (mostly electrical, computer systems, mechanical, industrial and mechatronics). We look at three recent graduates carving a successful career path at ABB:
Nthabiseng Manana
Nthabiseng is a Finance Global Trainee. Her responsibilities include standardising and implementing accounting and reporting according to US GAAP guidelines (SOX controls), managing overdue accounts, analysing financial and risk information, preparing rolling forecasts, and planning budgets and annual performance.
She has a 2013 National Diploma in Accounting from the University of Johannesburg. Having applied to numerous graduate programmes without success, she felt she needed to improve her chances. As a result, she completed her Bachelor of Accounting in Taxation from the University of South Africa in 2019.
âThough I was unsure of what exactly I wanted to pursue, my love of numbers led me to choose the accounting route. The ABB graduate programme has enabled me to broaden my horizons by not only providing me with a deeper understanding of the company, but also allowing me to develop an excellent network and choose from an extensive curriculum,â says Nthabiseng.
Her advice is to other young graduates âAlways give it your all. Try your best to get things right because even if you do not succeed, your efforts will be evident. Also, remember that first impressions always last. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.â
Tebogo Seemela
Tebogo is a Business Controller for the Corporate and Process Automation business areas and a Team Lead at Helping Hands. Her role involves partnering with colleagues in human resources, supply chain and Information systems to oversee business and financial operations.
Furthermore, she is responsible for preparing management accounts, financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting, ensuring the accuracy of financial reporting, and analysing cost drivers to mitigate any adverse deviations and take advantage of potential opportunities.
At Helping Hands, she leads the team that is testing the Control Activity Report (CARs) to check whether controls are performed as designed and that information is saved and made available for audit purposes. Tebogo has a Master of Commerce in Economics from the University of Limpopo.
âMy passion is to analyse numbers, understand what they mean, see the impact they have on the organisation, and how one can derive solutions and identify opportunities that influence business decisions that add value to the organisation,â explains Tebogo.
ABB provides bursaries through its Corporate Social Responsibility programme to enable students from disadvantaged backgrounds to further their studies, while its graduate programme provides specific work experience. Furthermore, ABB contributes to youth development through several global projects by means of providing funding, volunteering efforts, or in-kind contributions.
Arleta Mukhesi
Arleta is a Global Early Talent Partner (GETP) working at ABB France, where she started on 1 May 2023 as a Business Finance Analyst. She began her career at ABB South Africa as a graduate in training under the finance department. GETP is a two-year programme allowing candidates to rotate to different ABB divisions in different countries to acquire diverse knowledge and expertise.
âABB is the best company a graduate or a junior can work at. It keeps on changing and finding innovative ways to make things easier. It has taught me to never stop learning while working and keep on educating myself by upgrading my qualifications,â says Arleta.
ABB enables youth empowerment through its Graduate in Training programme, whereby it offers soft skills and work experience. It even enrols graduates in Management Practice for Finance and provides engineering and electrical training to boost graduatesâ confidence and career prospects.
âI would like to thank ABB for the opportunity it has afforded me to acquire the necessary skills for the open job market. The patience that each and every employee has in sharing their work knowledge is commendable. The programme would not be as fruitful without these employees, and I would not be where I am right now,â concludes Arleta.
