As the world races towards alternative sources of energy and increased digitalisation in motor vehicles, BMW South Africa is shifting into high gear with an intensive education strategy it refers to as ‘learning to earning’.
Staff at Plant Rosslyn near Pretoria can bring toddlers and children up to the age of six with them to work where they are cared for in an on-site creche, this pre-school facility acting as a feeder for the Ntsha-Peu Primary School in Soshanguve, where many of the BMW staff live.
The company has been involved with this school for some time and has been instrumental in refurbishing buildings and classrooms and installing an innovative PowerUp project to keep the lights on during loadshedding.
Taking power from solar panels installed on the roof, a set of batteries provided by BMW AG that were used in company test electric vehicles, stores energy for the inverter. These same batteries are expected to last about 10 years, after which they will be shipped back to Germany to be recycled and to re-emerge as new battery packs for cars.
Sabrina Kohlbeck (left) and Jacob Hamar explain the innovative battery usage.
However, it is not only keeping the lights on that counts – it is the computer lab. Children at this school are being exposed to courses in programming and robotics in addition to the more traditional subjects.
“At the BMW Group, we take responsibility for our impacts on the world. Sustainability is not only at the centre of our current global strategy, but something that has long been entrenched in our corporate culture,” says Peter van Binsbergen, CEO of BMW South Africa.
“Our approach to development and learning is holistic starting from the infant stage through our Early Learning Centre which is situated on the premises at Plant Rosslyn. This educational facility caters for employee's children from ages 3 to 6 years old and follows the national education syllabus.
“For the next step of the journey, we have partnered with schools, the Ntsha Peu Primary School and Lethabong Secondary School situated in Soshanguve, while in 1978, Plant Rosslyn opened its training academy offering a wide range of technical programs. Key milestones in our 45-year journey includes the introduction of learnerships in 2000, the introduction of apprenticeships in 2015 and an R733,6-million investment in a new fully-equipped training academy.
“The training academy was accredited in 2021 to offer a robotics qualification and in 2022, it was accredited by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations as a trade test centre in legacy trades. We continue our journey forward with a new offering in Electric Vehicle Safety tying in with the developments in our Plant.”
Indeed, the Lethabong Secondary School is fed by pupils graduating from Ntsha-Peu and will undergo a massive rebuild into a modern campus and change to become an academy focused on science and technology.
The computer lab at Ntsha-Peu Primary School
One of the lesser-known divisions of BMW South Africa is also one of the most ‘people-hungry’ and this is the BMW IT Hub situated in the heart of Menlyn, Pretoria. Currently employing 2 600 people it needs around 600 new staff every year.
This facility is responsible for developing and writing computer solutions for practically every division of the company on a global basis, except for the tech that goes into the car – so all the back-end answers that keep the business running.
It also houses a 24-hour Call Centre to assist operators around the world to identify and rectify problems within their systems.
“For 45 years well-trained and skilled apprentices have gone onto formal employment at BMW Group South Africa, and within the broader industry. Candidates are trained across multiple disciplines and efforts continue within the programme to increase female representation to tackle gender imbalance in the industry,” says Van Binsbergen.
“We wholly support South Africa's Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment and currently, we are at level 3, but we are striving to attain level 1 by 2025.
“As part of its transformation strategy and in response to the country's youth unemployment crisis, BMW Group South Africa participates in the Youth Employment Service (YES) programme that encourages corporations to provide short-term employment, of around a year, for young South Africans. The main objective is to provide them with crucial work experience, which can be hard to access in a country with an unemployment level of 34%.
“YES candidates are placed within the broader BMW Group South Africa network. A total of 1 506 jobs across nine provinces were created by BMW Group South Africa as part of the initiative. Of these, 63% are female.”
Colin Windell - proudly CHANGECARS
