Established by Schneider Electric in conjunction with the Schneider Electric Foundation, and the French Ministry of Education, the French South African Schneider Electric Education Centre (F’SASEC) provides access to employment through their access to education programs.

Located at the Vaal University of Technology (VUT), F’SASEC offers courses to previously disadvantaged young South Africans who aspire to become artisans, electricians and technicians in the field of energy.

The centre helps to launch graduates into the workplace following their completion of the N1 and N2 courses for Electrical Engineering offered at their state-of-the-art facility and training centre. The course is inclusive of both industrial and domestic installations, and the emphasis is placed on both theoretical and practical knowledge, while practical hours are increased to prepare students for industry.

In addition to facilitating this access to education program, Schneider Electric South Africa has also collaborated with the Green Wave group, specifically its Automation division, to employ top-performing students.

Through this opportunity, and their hard work and dedication, two students have significantly enhanced their career options.

Innocent Pholo, 24, was born and raised in Soweto by his mother.

“My mom introduced me to James Shirley, from Schneider electric while I was still in Matric. He asked me what my plans were after school, but at that stage, I didn’t know. James told me about F’SASEC. I enrolled and worked here, at Green Wave, during the school holidays before I started with my studies,” says Pholo, now a full-time junior programmer at Green Wave.

Pholo, who had not studied maths or science at school, was apprehensive when he first started classes at F’SASEC. Finding his first semester especially tricky, he realised he wouldn’t succeed if continued to study alone.

“I joined up with friends who knew my subjects better than me, it took time, but I was able to adapt myself to the new course material and do as well as I could in my studies. What also really helped me was the good leadership show by Professor Alexandre Sebastiani. In the beginning, I was always late, but learnt that I needed to be on time. I started being early for class, and that habit has continued into my work ethic,” he says.

“Professor Sebastiani is an inspiration to me, he is very dedicated to his work, and he always pushed me. When I started I was one of the worst students, but because of his teachings and his faith I was able to make it and take my newly acquired skills with me into the workplace, and my daily life.”

Lafras Magabe has also managed to create new opportunities for himself through the partnership between Schneider Electric South Africa and Green Wave.

“After I finished school a friend of mine told me about F’SASEC, and once I had enrolled he helped me with the fees. When I got there, I was surprised. The centre offered the full package, with everything from free internet for research to the N courses we studied. The practical training we received while doing domestic wiring was also very beneficial,” he says.

“I was good in maths and science, so I found it a bit easier when it came to subjects like electronics, maths and communications. As a young boy in church, I would connect instruments, so I’ve been connecting stuff for a long time. It’s something I liked to do as I I grew up and I did it well.”

Today, Magabe works at Green Wave as a technician, and he is running his own site.

“I would like to thank everyone who is involved at F’SASEC, Schneider Electric and Prof Sebastiani for making this all possible, and Nigel Armstrong from Green Wave for giving me the opportunity. He saw my potential, and now I’m running a site, so he trusts me to make this happen,” he says.

“I also learned a lot from Prof Sebastiani. He is punctual, precise and accurate in everything he does. I am a lot more disciplined now than I was before I met him. I come to work an hour earlier and strive to reach my target before they are even set for me.”