The South African Breweries (SAB) is demonstrating a strong commitment to youth empowerment with a year-round investment in young South African talent. In an ongoing measure to position itself as an employer of choice, the brewery makes a sizeable investment into employee development programmes and initiatives to attract and retain top talent.
Bridget Makhura, Vice President of People at SAB says, “This June, as we celebrate Youth Month, it is important to reflect on the progress made, the challenges faced, and the immense potential of what we can do for the youth of our country.
“Talent development is something that we are really proud of at SAB and our various initiatives play a vital role in addressing the rising youth unemployment rate in our country. They also seek to make an impact on the lives of young individuals by contributing to their economic upliftment.”
What it takes to be an employer of choice
SAB strives to be an employer of choice for many South Africans and the brewery plays a critical role in building skills and capabilities in the beer sector. “Our contribution extends far beyond local communities, as we actively support and contribute to the development of the South African economy. By investing in talent and empowering individuals, we strive to make a positive impact that reaches far and wide,” explains Makhura.
To deliver on SAB’s promise of building its own pipeline of talent, the brewery has the following programmes in place to help usher young South Africans into a prosperous future:
Global Management Trainee (GMT) programme
Through the SAB GMT programme employees are invited to join an intensive 12-month rotational training programme. It attracts the brightest, most driven graduates and nurtures their talent by giving them relevant experiences with a comprehensive, holistic, and systematic view of the company, right from the start.
“Our GMT programme provides a unique experience and prepares successful applicants for a fast-tracked career at SAB, creating the future managers and leaders within our business. Part of our recruitment drive is to identify people who are better than ourselves,” shares Makhura.
Since its inception in 2018, SAB has hired a diverse group of African talent who have transitioned into various roles across the business. Our GMTs are exposed to various learning experiences, and they benefit from coaching and mentoring throughout the programme. GMT is also dedicated to identifying opportunities that facilitate accelerated career progression and experiences that will build leadership capability for the future.
Nonjabulo Ndwandwe went through the GMT programme in 2021 and now holds the title of brand manager for Carling black label. Ndwandwe has been in the business for three years and appreciates the diverse experience she is gaining across various fields within SAB. The programme taught her to embrace opportunities and to find an effective and innovative means to increase a brand’s influence. This, she says, is key to maintaining an optimum relevance in an ever-changing world, whilst yielding profitable results. The programme also ignited a passion within her for transformational leadership as a young black female and gave her the tools to build her confidence to display excellence, endorse change and practice agility.
DynamX trainee programme
DynamX is a trainee programme that grows and develops graduates by building technical capability aligned to their career aspirations while equipping them with cross-functional experience to help them in a fast-paced corporate environment. Programmes vary from a six-month cross-functional exposure to a 24-month intensive programme. Once the trainees have successfully completed the programme, they are able to apply for internal positions within SAB. Interested candidates can apply for the programme on this link https://lnkd.in/dp3f52KV
Kabelo Mogotsi was part of DynamX trainee programme and has recently been promoted to talent and development specialist. He has been part of SAB for two years and sees his biggest achievement in his work coming alive. Through the programme he has managed to build relationships with colleagues across the Africa Zone and this makes his work easier thanks to the alignment with the right stakeholders. Being a part of DynamX landed him his dynamic role where he is responsible for maximising and growing the talent in SAB.
The programmes don’t end with DynamX and GMT, as SAB also has various learnership programmes, in-service training, technical trainees programme, an apprenticeship programme, and a talent accelerated programme.
Makhura concludes, “At SAB, we believe that our people are our greatest strength, and nurturing their talent is our most valuable investment. Our ongoing commitment to recruiting young, ambitious individuals will remain a strong focus for us.”