Schneider Electric South Africa has, in the run up to this year’s GivingTuesday, rolled out complimentary virtual training to its education partners network across Southern Africa.  These digital training sessions are provided by the company’s skilled employees and support Schneider Electric’s continued commitment to energy education in the region. 

In addition, and as part of Schneider Electric South Africa’s strategic focus on sustainable development amidst the pandemic, the company has also donated a substantial amount of equipment to training partners for practical training during 2020. This is in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education) and Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

Furthermore, the company’s employees will be invited on GivingTuesday to take part in the Schneider Electric Foundation’s internal global Heart to Heart contest (running into 2021), by marketing their chosen NGOs on the company’s global VolunteerIn platform and collecting votes.  The winning NGO for each country will receive 1,000 Euros.

The company’s GivingTuesday training efforts form part of phase three of the Schneider Electric Foundations’ global Tomorrow Rising campaign, launched earlier this year in response to the global pandemic. Phase 3 aptly called “Resilience” places the focus on supporting educational institutions with complimentary training sessions, which are mostly digital due to the pandemic’s restrictions.

“The training was excellent and very professional, he is undoubtedly an expert in his field”, says Gideon Gouws, lecturer at Eastcape Midlands College, following training sessions provided to his students during November 2020.  

Zanelle Dalglish, Director Sustainable Development and Academy for the Anglophone Africa cluster at Schneider Electric South Africa says, “GivingTuesday is yet another way we can offer support to our valuable training partners particularly in a time when access to education is critical and yet often difficult to come by. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, we have persevered. The more than ten training courses offered included virtual courses in EcoStruxure, other technical courses, as well as ethics.”

She continues, “We are not only committed to supporting with complimentary training missions, but also assist in seeking employment opportunities for students when possible within our network following training. Since 2016, 13 students from our education network have found employment with either Schneider Electric South Africa or our partners.”

Speaking volumes of the success of the education network, is Luvo Dubulo who after underdoing his entrepreneurship training, started his own business and is still affiliated with the training partner, Vaal University of Technology.

One of this year’s equipment recipients is WITS’ School of Electrical and Information Engineering. “We are grateful for the donation of the breakers from Schneider Electric. This enables the school to keep the Energy Laboratory in good operational order. The role of the Energy Laboratory is invaluable in preparing the students for the challenges in the energy industry. It would be impossible to sustain the laboratory without significant industrial support,” says Professor Willie Cronje, School of Electrical and Information Engineering at WITS.     

Established in 2012, GivingTuesday has over the last eight years grown from a simple idea – a day that encourages people to do good – into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate and celebrate generosity.

GivingTuesday, held on the Tuesday after Black Friday and Cyber Monday, unleashes the power of people and organisations.  Whether it is making someone smile or helping a stranger, the movement demonstrates that every of act of generosity counts and everyone has something to give.