Hansen Transmissions South Africa (Pty) Ltd (HTSA) has been part of the South African industrial and mining landscape for close on half century with an established reputation for not only exceptional engineering capabilities and product and service quality, but also for caring for people and the community.

“We have always taken social responsibility to our employees, their families and the community to heart because we know that a content family life and a stable community are pivotal to a happy and productive employee base”, says HTSA Managing Director, Fritz Fourie. “The company has, over the years, made numerous investments into and donated time to community and school improvement and upliftment programmes”.

It is company policy to employ local technicians and engineers who support HTSA’s range of precision designed and engineered industrial gearboxes, “a compelling reason for investing in Ulwazi Express, a registered trust and non- profit organisation (NPO) aimed at better education in under-serviced schools,” adds Fourie.

Fourie says that the importance of education is paramount to progress and that highly skilled teachers are prerequisite to producing well-educated learners who are able to pursue the career of their dreams. “So many South African schools lack the amenities and the tools to adequately teach and prepare our young learners for tertiary education, especially in the fields of mathematics and science. We, together with our partners, are working towards creating a pool of young people with the necessary skills to take us into a solid future with ample, sustainable job opportunities for every South African. This programme, which kicked off on 5^th July 2012 at Madiba a Toloane Secondary School in Jericho, Northwest Province, will ensure that all subjects are included to give learners a holistic, high quality education which will ultimately lead to the development of a pool of skilled young people.”

With access to a digital network, the programme delivers free access to the educational content such as maths and science education, to under-resourced and under-services rural and urban schools. Additional support from some of South Africa’s leading communication organisations further ensures wide and sustainable access to the programme. The educational content includes social studies, engineering concepts, health and guidance, while career guidance and workplace readiness are also addressed. Programme content was sourced through partnerships with local and international suppliers of digital content as well as local non-government organisations (NGOs) and government departments. Ulwazi Express is already functional on 24 sites, focusing on bridging the digital divide and enhancing the learning experience by using stimulating audio visual platforms.

“The South African Government allows Equity Equivalent as an alternative to BEE and, in our opinion, this programme has an extremely wide impact because it reaches large numbers of young people at grass route levels, preparing them for the job market and a brighter future. That is why HTSA decided to go this route and to establish a partnership with Ulwazi Express,” explains Fourie and adds that they are proud that, by taking this step, HTSA has moved from a level 6 to a level 4 company. “The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) provides the scorecard for Equity Equivalent, an option which is open to any multi national corporation with a South African subsidiary and which requires that 25% of the value of the company is invested into local development”.

HTSA and Ulwazi Express are investing R3.2m for the first phase of the project and Fourie says that this Equity Equivalent investment reaffirms HTSA’s determination to play a role in developing South Africa’s future leaders and captains of industry. “In fact, we are taking the programme a step further by taking apprentices on board and while they are in training, the company is providing bursaries of R160 000.00 towards school and college fees for their children. “It is our sincere hope that the success of the project will persuade many other South African companies to become part and parcel of this vital skills development programme,” concludes Fourie.

Photo: HTSA Managing Director, Fritz Fourie