Chevron SA programme helping people with disabilities acquire work experience

Sandisiwe Helebe

To address this low representation and provide opportunities for people living with disabilities in the workplace, Chevron South Africa, which operates in the country under the Caltex brand, launched an annual learnership programme in September 2015 with black unemployed learners living with disabilities. The 12-month programme is designed to create a pipeline of people living with disabilities who can compete for positions within different departments at Chevron South Africa and across the industry.

Fully qualified and competent to do the job

“This year a total of 31 candidates were recruited and assessed by an education and training service provider, Primeserv HR Solutions, and selected by Chevron South Africa to undergo training in wholesale and retail Operations NQF level 3 and wholesale and retail management NQF level 4,” said Llewelyn van Aarde, learning and development manager, Chevron South Africa.

“Rather than settling for upskilling learners at NQF 1 and NQF2 level, Chevron has specifically chosen to focus on the higher qualification levels to add real value to the learners’ skills development. This ensures that the learners leave fully qualified and competent to do the job, giving them the highest chance of succeeding in the competitive job market,” said Joy Cupido, education training and development practitioner at Primeserv HR Solutions.

Once the theoretical aspect of the programme has been completed, the learners are placed with host employers for a twelve-month period to complete their workplace experience. The workplace experience is a requirement for completing the programme and is aimed at ensuring that the learners get real work experience in the areas of their studies which helps them build their portfolios of evidence to obtain their qualifications and future work opportunities.

Van Aarde continued: “This year, Chevron is hosting two learners for their workplace experience. Both learners were placed in the Customer Services department, working in the call centre. Mentors within this department regularly review the learners’ portfolios of evidence to ensure that they cover all the required elements for their workplace experience.”

Sandisiwe Helebe and Akhona Masiza doing their on-the-job-training

Get out there and take full advantage of available opportunities

One of the learners placed at Chevron, Sandisiwe Helebe, had the following to say: “I had some prior work experience, but I was still a bit nervous about coming to Chevron. I didn’t need to worry as the team has been so welcoming. They have an ergonomics specialist who has assisted us to set up our workstations to allow us to work more comfortably.”

Her advice to other people living with disabilities is to, “Get out there and take full advantage of opportunities available to you.”

Akhona Masiza, another of the learners placed at Chevron added: “While I was sitting at home recovering from my operation, I stumbled across the learnership programme on the internet and I grabbed this opportunity to learn and to get work experience with both hands. Working at Chevron has more than exceeded my expectations. The vibrant and proactive facilitators have made a positive impact on my personal life and they have taught me to always give of my best and to obtain as much knowledge and experience as I can from this opportunity.”

Commenting on the learners’ progress, Van Aarde had this to say: “What has impressed us most is that these two learners have quickly been able to take on complex tasks independently and we are extremely pleased with their results. They have both demonstrated winning attributes such as teamwork, reliability and the willingness to go above and beyond during critical times, despite the fact that they still have to attend classes and work on their theory assignments in their own time. With a work ethic like this, I have no doubt that these two young women will succeed in anything they do.”

In 2016 The Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (CHIETA) awarded Chevron South Africa with the ‘Recognition for Support of People with Disabilities Award’ for excellence and best practice in skills development and commitment to making a difference in South Africa. Chevron South Africa has recently been awarded a Level 4 B-BBEE qualification across its entire business including the Chevron Cape Town Refinery.