STYLDRIFT

Sustainable Employment Opportunities

The option of Portable Spaza (Tuck) Shops was selected for providing the contractors and employees at the Styldrift project with a means of purchasing refreshments on Site.

Two Spaza Trailers were custom built which would act as stand- alone business units. The trailers were built to be operated on Solar power and gas thus making them independent from electricity sources and making them more environmentally friendly. Potential candidates to operate the Spaza Shops were selected through an approved local recruitment process and Shaft Sinkers also invested in long term Entrepreneurial Training in order to ensure that the businesses would operate on a sustainable basis.

The benefits of this initiative will be measured once the entrepreneurs have been trading for a while.

Human Capital Development

The Styldrift project is still in the development stage but once production starts the operation will require Mechanised Mining Machine Operators. This is a critical and scarce skill as this area mostly applies conventional mining methods.

The communities have been engaging management regarding employment opportunities at Styldrift. A decision was taken by the relevant stakeholders being, Sustainable Development, Human Resource Development and Styldrift management that 50 community members will be employed on a contractual basis at Royal Bafokeng Platinum, to train them as Mechanised Mining Machine Operators

This will create a pool of skilled candidates from which to employ when required and these candidates will be in a position to apply for jobs at other mechanised mining operations.

The following processes were followed:

• Medical / Physical Fitness
• Standard medical examination
• Heat Tolerance tests
• Physical Fitness / Endurance test
• Royal Bafokeng Induction Programme
• Underground exposure - (1 week), and
• Literacy and Numeracy assessments

The first 25 of the 50 were selected were sent to attend training in Welkom and the remainder were sent to the ABET centre to upgrade their literacy levels. At a later stage the groups.

On completion of the training the participants had completed the Mechanised Mining Machine Operator Training and had upgraded their literacy levels.

It is managements plan to continue this process to skill community members for various mining related skills to ensure a skilled pool of members to select from and to provide them with the opportunity to apply for mining positions at other Mining Houses in the area.

Asset Focused Development

A model of Asset Focused Development (AFD) was introduced to learners as a tool to develop them towards a future as successful entrepreneurs.

RBPlat engaged the Mmapula Community Development to implement and test the model. 12 learners who had recently completed a course in Basic Business entered the AFD programme.

The AFD model has the objective of locating and mobilising the energy in people towards positive change and can both be introduced to build on previously acquired skills or help identify gaps in terms of future learning.

AFD is an innovative yet simple paradigm in order to address socio-economic development issues and is an example of a unique approach to adult learning in the current environment. It is a relatively low cost personal coaching opportunity for learners which would usually only be available for executives.

An asset focused mind can turn realities into opportunities and opportunities into success stories.

The AFD interventions condense skills and assets, including training provided by Royal Bafokeng Platinum (optimising training and skills development investments made in people), in order to translate it into a job or an entrepreneurial opportunity and eventually into local economic growth.

This interactive and holistic approach to learning proved to energise the delegates sufficiently to overcome previously seen insurmountable obstacles. Personal skills/assets in combination with social, economic and environmental assets become a winning combination, turning the attention from the eternal victim to the victor.

AFD is a strong building block in preparing people for entrepreneurship as well as the job market by contributing towards personal growth and finding and mobilising internal drive and responsibility. It is also a way of giving on-going support to learners for 3-5 months in order prepare them to operate and manage a business independently.