Having earned the reputation as a global powerhouse in the mining, infrastructure and natural resources industries, Epiroc remains more passionate than ever before to empower South Africa’s youth.  For a second consecutive year, the pioneering company proudly co-sponsored the prominent ABSA GradStar Awards 2019.

“At Epiroc we pride ourselves on being a preferred employer and that means that one of our core focuses lies in promoting and nurturing exceptional young talent,” states Kovashni Govender, from Epiroc’s Learning and Development department. “Our theme for this year’s GradStar Awards was ‘an inspiring place to grow’ as not only perfectly describes what Epiroc is to our employees but also illustrates our commitment to motivating the youth.”

Designed to replicate the recruitment process utilised by top employers to identify future employees, the GradStar programme attracts sponsorships from several renowned companies operating across various market sectors. Reaching out to varsity career centres across the country, the programme receives thousands of entries from university students from different locations and fields of study. From these entries, the best 100 students are selected based on their leadership qualities and readiness for the workplace. These best-fit participants are selected during a four-stage judging process that is made up of behavioural testing and personal interviewing which includes psychometric testing and video interviews.

The GradStar Awards two day workshop took place on 19 and 20 September 2019 at the Indaba Hotel in Johannesburg. Day one saw Epiroc host a one-of-a-kind ‘when the why is clear, the how is easy’ workshop at which the top 100 students competed to gain a place in the top ten. Presented by Govender, one of the interactive sessions was centred on ‘how would you introduce yourself and your skill set in 30 seconds to a prospective new boss’. This had the participants excitedly using worksheets to create an elevator pitch.

“The reason behind our workshop was to equip these young individuals with an understanding of who they are as a ‘personal brand’ and how to present the best of themselves in an interview or when networking,” explains Govender.

Later on that evening at the coveted GradStar Awards gala dinner, the top ten selected based on the skills that they displayed during the workshop, were announced. In addition to receiving a trophy, certificate and gifts generously sponsored by Epiroc, these deserving students also earned the bragging rights as GradStar alumni. Naledi Mokoena from Epiroc’s Human Resources department presented two of the top ten awards for the evening.

The following day, 20 October, the Epiroc Human Resources and Communication departments were out in full force as they jointly hosted a stand at the GradStar Awards exhibition. Joining Govender and Mokoena at the Epiroc exhibit was Jaye–Dee Engelbrecht and Ariel Chetty from Human Resources and Communications respectively who engaged with the students by sharing a few of their career developments and accomplishments at Epiroc over the years.

“The exhibition presented us with the ideal platform to display Epiroc’s strengths to some of the country’s greatest and most highly employable university students as well as to gain insight on what they are looking for from a potential place of work,” shares Govender.

Drawing to a close, Govender says that the GradStar Awards gives Epiroc the opportunity to meet graduates in an out-of-the-office environment and gain a deeper understanding of the mind-set of today’s youth. “Epiroc strives to continue in assisting the youth to kick-start their careers through our various graduate initiatives and by supporting well-deserving programmes such as GradStar. We wish all the GradStar Awards 2019 participants the very best for their future careers.”