Concrete manufacturer focuses on skills development

17th May 2013

  

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Cement, concrete and aggregate manufacturer Lafarge Group encourages skills, training and development and supports its employees at all levels in order for them to develop to their full potential.

The company also actively recognises the responsibility to help develop the communities surrounding its operations.

An example of Lafarge’s investment in skills development has been the Africa Training Centre (ATC), which was established on the Lafarge Cement Works site, in Lichtenburg, in the North West province.

The centre was created with the vision of becoming a training facility for engineering in Africa and was expanded to include a fully operational mini-plant training unit, incorporating equipment found on cement plants.

The ATC provides artisan training leading to nationally recognised qualifications and a stepping stone for an individual’s further advancement. Courses are run for employees of Lafarge companies throughout Africa, as well as the youth from local communities.

The impact of the group’s focus on personnel development and sharing, and its international experience in skills development is evident in all sectors of the local company.

A key performance requirement on capital-intensive production facilities, such as cement plants, is sustaining high standards of maintenance.

Training

Lafarge South Africa introduced a training intervention based at the ATC, which trains and tests maintenance personnel in international best practices. Individuals recognise that taking up the challenge to enhance their competence lays a foundation for their advancement.

In the aggregates and mining fields, the company has addressed managerial skills development with the Lafarge Aggregates Management Programme (LAMP).

It is an internal three-year training programme introduced with the aim of increasing the talent pool in the quarrying field. LAMP targets young engineering graduates who have completed degrees or diplomas in mining, civil or mechanical engineering.

Developing employees’ skills and potential is a key contributor to Lafarge’s leadership position in the readymix concrete market. An internal comprehensive people development programme, the Readymix Academy, has been designed to enhance the competence of every member of the local Readymix team.

Individuals are encouraged to pursue self-development by taking advantage of the company’s e-learning facility. Freely available to any employee with access to the Lafarge portal, the learning tool shares common management and leadership skills knowledge throughout the group. Over 100 training modules cover leadership and management techniques, personal development skills and management fundamentals.

With the aim of developing a culture of excellence at group level, the Lafarge corporate university was created almost ten years ago. Managers are selected to attend the corporate university, which works in partnership with international business schools, including Insead and Henley, in Europe, and Duke University and Chicago GSB, in the US. In South Africa, there is a partnership with the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science.

Looking towards future employees, leaders and customers of the Lafarge businesses, the company maintains close relationships with universities and schools through the sponsorship of student visits to its facilities, and promotion of skills development through events such as the Concrete Canoe Race and the Concrete Cube Competition.

Personal development among employees is encouraged through the sponsorship of educational courses, while bursaries to study engineering and science courses at tertiary education institutions are available to employees’ children.

Lafarge’s technical resource, Quality Department of Southern Africa (QDSA), offers experiential training to chemistry and chemical engineering students. QDSA also provides training courses in cement technology for company employees.

The company has an extensive development programme for education in the disadvantaged communities around its sites, organised by the Lafarge Education Trust and the Lafarge Community Trust.

The trusts operate an extensive Whole School Development Plan, which is achieving results among the Bodibe community in the North West province and the Mzimela and Zungu communities of KwaZulu-Natal.

The trusts’ holistic approach is to lay a sustainable foundation of skills enhancement among teachers and administrators, combined with parent skills development, to empower each community to take ownership of its education system.

The trusts’ bursary programme has sponsored over 80 students from previously disadvantaged communities. With support from mentors, this produced a notable transformation in the success rate for first-year tertiary education students.

Fourteen years ago, the local company began introducing what was a new concept at the time – a subcontracted transport fleet. Starting in Durban, Lafarge began selling its trucks to its own drivers on a Lorry Owner-Driver system. Support and training was given in finance and business management to ensure it became a viable, sustainable partnership arrangement that benefited both parties.

The impact of Lafarge’s focus on personnel development and sharing its international experience in skills development is evident in all sectors of the local company.

Edited by Tracy Hancock
Creamer Media Contributing Editor

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