Company Announcement - In 2008 Mzwandile Harmans attended a poor school in the heart of the rural Eastern Cape.  It was his matric year; but with frequent student stay aways and meagre resources at Masikhuthale Public Secondary school, the pass rate was low and the learning environment less than ideal for conscientious learners.

Then one day a teacher came round to talk about Engen’s Maths and Science Schools (EMSS) programme, and everything changed for this young man who was determined to realise his full potential.

A chance to succeed
“We were given a chance to take a test to qualify for the EMSS programme, which ran on Saturdays at a different school with better resources, 25 kilometres away,” remembers Mzwandile. “Fortunately, I took it seriously and I got in.”

Making the long round trip every weekend to attend the programme saw a steady improvement in Mzwandile’s  maths, chemistry and physics marks, so much so that he was awarded a full Engen scholarship to study Chemical Engineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT).

Mzwandile later impressed with his tertiary studies and after two-years was offered a one-year internship at Engen’s oil refinery in Durban, which he passed with distinction. On graduating from CPUT, he landed a two-year employment contract with Engen, as part of the company’s graduate development programme.

Today, Mzwandile is permanently employed as an Environmental Technician at the Engen Refinery, and working on a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering. Meanwhile, back home, his old headmaster still uses his success to motivate others.
“I am so grateful to Engen for all of this,” says Mzwandile. “I never thought it could happen to me.”

Blueprinting success
But Engen says many of its EMSS graduates have been known to achieve similar success. All it takes is talent, lots of hard work, and tons of faith in oneself. Who knows, a helping hand might just arrive to pave the way for you. The point is that you must forge your own path in life.

Thandeka Cele, Engen Refinery Public Affairs Manager, says Engen is proud and excited to be supporting students of Mzwandile’s calibre and dedication. “It does the EMSS programme proud, and we’re pleased to play a part in helping develop South Africa’s talent pool of scarce Science, Maths and Engineering skills.”

Engen EMSS programme
The EMSS programme has supported students from under-resourced schools across South Africa for over 27 years. The school Mzwandile attended, Masikhuthale Public  Secondary, is in Cala in the Eastern Cape.

He says he used to work very hard to achieve relatively little at the school, but after joining the EMSS programme he started working smartly and greatly improved his marks. “Before, I had many questions no-one could answer to my satisfaction. EMSS helped a lot. From then on I never got less than 92% in Mathematics and Chemistry.”

At the same time, Engen provided logistical support. “They provided buses to travel to the EMSS centre and back every weekend. The programme included students from other high schools. We were given complimentary uniforms, stationery, lunch, and of course we felt very special. At the end of the year I passed with top results in my EMSS group.”

The bigger lesson
Through the EMSS programme, Mzwandile has been made aware of the true nature of his circumstances and how widespread the problem is – affecting students and families who cannot get ahead, schools and towns in desperate need of help, while many companies and the wider economy suffer because of a lack of skills.

“Many South African schools lack resources and dedicated teachers, especially in rural areas,” he says. “Having no resources limits students from obtaining broader information, and of course that results in high failure and dropout rates. EMSS can make a big difference, even if it cannot help every willing school and student. I wish them all good luck, and want to tell them to work hard, because people, who have a talent and are prepared to work, get noticed.”

Be green
Mzwandile has another message too, that of caring for the environment – an ideal that is woven into Engen’s operations at every level as the company strives to minimise its impact on the earth and air and the communities in which it does business.

“Having been exposed to environmental management for more than two years now, when I look back to where I grew up on the farm, I realised how wrong the community was to dispose of some its waste in the manner it did. There are many people in SA that still have not realised the impact their actions have on the environment and I am very concerned about the pollution that is going on. I would like to grow within environmental management so that other young individuals can see how important it is to look after our precious earth by taking steps to reduce our carbon footprints.”


For more information please contact:
Thandeka Cele , Engen Refinery Public Affairs Manager, Tel:0314602439 Cell:082 545 3882 or via
e-mail at thandeka.cele@engenoil.com