The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) has called on companies that have embraced transformation in the metals and engineering sector to submit entries for the Most Transformed Company of the Year category of this year’s Seifsa Awards for Excellence.

The accolade is awarded to the most transformed company in terms of the composition of its board of directors, executive management and management team last year.

“Transformation is of paramount importance to South Africa’s future and sustainability. Companies in the metals and engineering sector have begun to embrace transformation, albeit at a painfully slow pace. We seek to celebrate exemplary companies that reflect the diversity of our democratic country,” said Seifsa CEO Kaizer Nyatsumba.

The winning company will be celebrated during an annual gala dinner to be held on May 24 at the IDC Conference Centre, in Sandton, Johannesburg.

The prestigious award will be among others to be bestowed on metals and engineering sector companies as part of the annual Seifsa Awards for Excellence.

Entries for the awards close on April 20 for all categories.

The Most Transformed Company of the Year is split into two by company size – the first one covers companies employing fewer than 100 people and the second one looks at companies employing more than 100 people.

This, Seifsa explained on Monday, ensures that companies are judged against their peers to encourage fairness.

The general criteria for the category include how empowerment has been successfully implemented in companies’ skills and development programmes; statistics that show how companies’ have adopted development; and use of third-party suppliers that are black-owned businesses.

The general criteria will also include companies listing how the corporate culture of diversity has been communicated throughout the workforce, as well as noting the statistical information on the company’s board, executive management and senior leadership.

Last year’s winner for the category was engineering solutions provider Weir Minerals, which embraced the challenges of the amended Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Code and for whom skills development has become a cornerstone.