Making big strides
As a state-owned entity, Denel has taken a proactive approach to transformation, and this is reflected by how representative the organisation has become in terms of both race and gender.
“59% of our workforce is black, which shows we have made some impressive progress since the figure of 45% we achieved five years ago,” says Denel group executive for HR and transformation Natasha Davies. The company’s 2015 Engagement Survey recorded a 74% engagement rate. From an HR perspective, the focus on transformation has meant that 83% of new appointments made in 2016 have been from Indian, black and coloured communities as well as other designated groups.
Davies says that transformation strategies are implemented according to a twopronged approach. The first focuses on the internal climate of the organisation and, to this end, Denel’s values — performance, integrity, innovation, caring and accountability — are seen as a way in which to create a new climate within the company.
Employees are encouraged to live the values on a daily basis and this is emphasised by programmes that are run throughout the year, culminating in an annual gala rewarding employees who live the company values.
The second part of Denel’s transformation strategy uses its BBBEE rating to measure the organisation’s impact on the economy. Denel has achieved a level 4 rating under the new codes for the period under review. Building a skills pipeline for the industry Like many industries, Denel faces skills shortages. “We have a shortage of top-end systems engineers, design engineers, flight test pilots and engineers, logistics engineers, space technologists, as well as specialist skills such as radar and electro optics,” Davies says.
To ensure knowledge sharing and succession planning, Denel encourages mentorship within the organisation.
It encourages an interest in maths and science among learners, and participates in trade shows and university career fairs to enable pupils and university students to better understand the opportunities and careers available within these fields as well as career information for entry into the company.
Denel’s Schools Outreach Programme has been created to provide extra tuition in maths and science to pupils at schools in historically disadvantaged areas.
In Gauteng, the programme is run by engineers who volunteer their time, and in the North West, Limpopo and the Free State, Denel has hired teachers to work with pupils. The programme has recently extended to extra tuition in English and Life Skills. A week-long Youth Camp has also been established, which teaches leadership skills.
The Schools Outreach Programme leads directly into Denel’s bursary programme for universities and technical colleges, where pupils are sponsored by Denel to study engineering-related fields.
In addition, the Denel Technical Academy is a flagship apprentice training centre offering a first-year apprentice programme in various trades. Once the first year has been completed, an additional 24-36 months of on-the-job training is provided, after which a trade test must be completed in order to qualify. Once they have qualified, Denel will either employ graduates internally or release them into the industry.
Denel offers vacation work to engineering graduates and has its own year-long graduate programme, the Engineering Academy of Learning. Here, graduates spend 50% of their time working within the organisation. The balance of their time is spent completing a project which requires them to design, develop, manufacture, test and produce a product.
“Ultimately, our strategy is to ‘grow our own timber’, we aim to recruit our bursars into the academy and then bring them permanently into the organisation,” says Davies. Applicants must have completed a BSc, a BEng or a National Diploma. The Technical Academy provides artisan training. It provides training in trades such as fitter and turner, and welding
As a forward-thinking organisation, Denel builds the expectations of both millennials and baby boomers into the organisational culture. “Our products are our greatest selling point and largely what makes Denel such a desirable employer in the industry,” she says.