Matric of the Year competition has education-focused partner
PORT Elizabeth tyre company Continental has partnered up with the annual Matric of the Year competition – now The Herald Continental Matric of the Year – because education is one of the focuses of its business ethos, with a particular emphasis on the upliftment of the youth.
Continental Tyre South Africa managing director Dieter Horni said the company’s graduate programmes were geared towards identifying and fostering talented youth and growing them professionally.
“We at Continental Tyre South Africa are proud to partner on the Matric of the Year. Together, we look forward to recognising and inspiring the young talent of the Eastern Cape,” he said yesterday.
Every year, the company recruits between 20 and 25 graduates and in-service trainees from various disciplines.
By the end of this month, Continental Tyre SA will be recruiting an additional 15 IT and engineering graduates from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University for a new project.
Communications manager Jiminy-Ann Knoetze-Bosman said the company had recently embarked on initiatives with schools and higher education and realised the importance of this ongoing collaborative approach.
“It all begins with career options and subject choices at school level, and who better than industry to promote business professions?
“Continental offers a wide variety of specialised fields for graduates including natural science, engineering, business administration, finance/controlling, marketing, logistics and human resources.
“Particular focus is given to engineering due to the critical shortage of qualified engineers,” she said.
The firm’s graduate and in-service training placed it at the forefront of the development of young business and technology leaders of the future.
“The goal of supporting career guidance at school level ensures quality candidates for engineering careers.
“Furthermore, in light of the engineering shortage, the focus is on the retention and further development of engineering talent for industry,” Knoetze-Bosman said.
“Through its graduate and in-service training programmes, Continental creates a competitive advantage by selecting, developing and promoting the best people in this world-aligned initiative.
“A practical training model has been developed for the global and local graduate interventions, and the key objective is to cultivate and enhance the competencies of these young professionals for current or future positions in the company.
“The graduate in-training programme empowers these graduates to obtain a broad understanding of each division within the organisation.”
She said the 12-month programme was designed to equip the graduate with leadership skills through personal development and extensive on-the-job training.
Candidates are mostly selected from local institutions and a number of the trainees have been nominated for specific international assignments.
The company also supports the Automotive Experiential Career Development Programme winter school for pre-selected Grade 12 pupils from schools in the Nelson Mandela Bay, promoting the graduate programme by having graduates from each year share their working experience at Continental.
It also provides sponsorship, support and funding of certain interventions.
Nomination forms are available on The Herald website: www.heraldlive.co.za .
Nomination forms and all required documents may be delivered to Matric of the Year Awards, Newspaper House, 19 Baakens Street, Port Elizabeth, for the attention of Berna Ulay. You may also post your entry to Matric of the Year awards, The Herald, Private Bag X6071, Port Elizabeth, 6000, again marked for Berna Ulay’s attention.
Alternatively, entries may be dropped off at the Walmer Park Shopping Centre at the Info Desk.