2009 – MINTEK ANNUAL REPORT

HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT

MINTEK ANNUAL REPORT – 2009

HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT

MINTEK’S TOTAL STAFF TURNOVER THIS YEAR FELL TO APPROXIMATELY 15 PER CENT, a considerable improvement on the fi gure of 25 per cent for the previous reporting period. This is attributed to the measures instituted following the two “climate surveys” conducted during 2007/08 (Annual Report 2008). However, attracting, developing, and retaining skilled technical personnel remains a challenge that needs to be continually addressed.

A new Performance Management System, which was designed from scratch in relation to other “best practices” systems, has been implemented, and the fi rst assessments under the new system are due at the end of October 2009.

A migration to the Stratifi ed Systems Theory of job evaluation system was initiated as informed by an industry benchmarking study conducted, and a complete migration done during the October 2009 salary increases. The new system is less complex than the previously-used Hay System as it interfaces more readily with other international systems as well as electronic systems, and to this end, is better supported by accredited consultants. The migration

will resolve inconsistencies in job grades at Mintek, and bring parity and equity in our salary structure.

Twenty-eight Mintek employees took part in a the roll-out of a customised Management Development Programme presented in-house by the University of the Witwatersrand Business School in order to upgrade management skills at Mintek. The target market is employees at executive, senior and middle management levels, including those who have recently been promoted into these ranks so that they can merge their skills with global management skills. Mintek plans to extend this programme in future, as well as to introduce an Executive Development Programme at the next-highest level.

assoc ia te

153

C lerks

workers

occupati

TO TA L

Occupational Categories

Legislators, senior officials and managers

Professionals

Technicians and associate professionals

Clerks

Service and sales workers

Craft and related trades workersPlant and machine operators and assemblersElementary occupations

TOTAL PERMANENT

M ale Fem ale W hite M ale Foreign N ationals

A C I A C I W W M ale Fem ale

7 2 0 3 0 0 3 7 0 0 22

30 2 9 21 2 14 25 50 23 6 182

59 1 5 44 0 6 9 22 4 3

25 1 0 40 3 2 22 2 0 0 95

1 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 5

49 6 0 23 0 0 0 14 1 93

114 9 0 2 0 0 0 3 2 0 130

93 5 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 102

378 26 14

139 5 22 59

100 30

782

DESIGNATED NON-DESIGNATED

0

9

TOTAL

Employment Equity

Mintek’s current Designated Group (DG) representation among the total permanent workforce is 82 per cent, which exceeds the Board-designated target of 77 per cent. However, DG individuals remain under-represented at the technical, professional, and managerial levels. This is due to the general shortage of DG engineers and scientists in the country, which results in extreme competition between prospective employers to recruit and retain such skills.

Unionisation of Mintek

A landmark point was reached in 2008 as the National Union of Mineworkers formally reached the legal bargaining

51

Employment Equity - March 2009

Source: Employment Equity Report 13 March 2009

2009 – MINTEK ANNUAL REPORT

requirement in line with the Labour Relations Act entitling them to organisational rights. Processes are currently being put in place to ensure compliance with the said legislation.

SAP and Human Resources

During the reporting period, HR processes had to be aligned to changes made in some policies and in the various standard operating procedures in HR. In light of some of the changes, some SAP reconfi guration had to be done in order to align our processes to the system.

The process of migrating the hardware of the portal server (the Employee Self Service or ESS system), which is used for booking project time, is almost complete. This project will also include the application upgrade. Once the new ESS is implemented in the second quarter of 2009/2010 as anticipated, the Solution Manager (Sol Man) project will follow, together with the confi guration of the Central User Administration function.

Wellness

Mintek’s Wellness Committee meets on a monthly basis, and organises regular events throughout the year. Activities during 2008/09 included awareness campaigns on STIs, tuberculosis, mental

illness, breast cancer; stress management workshops, and a special focus on general health by organising a Health Week. Voluntary HIV counselling and testing (VCT) sessions were held throughout the year in order to ensure continuous VCT.

ICAS South Africa provides Employee Assistance Programme services to Mintek as a partner in behavioural risk management, and provides counselling and advisory services on matters such as fi nancial management, relationships, and legal issues.

HIV/AIDS

Mintek maintains a high level of AIDS education by means of outreach programmes, awareness events, and a dedicated team of peer educators and peer counsellors. All employees are encouraged to make use of the voluntary counselling and testing services that are provided through the Mintek Medical Clinic, in association with the Randburg Municipality.

A Knowledge, Attitude and Behaviour (KAB) survey was conducted by HIV and AIDS management company Aganang in May 2008. The key fi nding was that Mintek employees’

knowledge and behaviour in respect of HIV/AIDS has improved since the last survey conducted in 2005. Between 64 per cent and 66 per cent of the employees that participated in the survey indicated that they knew their HIV status, and 68 per cent believed they were not at risk of infection.

Academic Support

Bursary programme

The aim of Mintek’s bursary programme is to ensure a steady supply of trained and highly skilled technical people in order to meet Mintek’s operational, research and development human capital needs. As a research- and technology-intensive organisation, Mintek needs an in-house bursary programme to ensure its long-term sustainability through

Bursar demographics, academic year 2008

Undergraduates

Postgraduates

In-service training

Internships

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

FemaleBlackTotal

52

MINTEK ANNUAL REPORT – 2009

knowledge management. Mintek’s bursary programme supported 62 undergraduate and 32 postgraduate students in the academic year 2008.

In December 2008 and January 2009 Mintek hosted 49 of its bursars for “vacation work”. The students are exposed to real-world projects at Mintek’s campus in Randburg under the supervision of experienced staff, and have the opportunity to present their work at the end of the period to an audience of their peers and co-workers. For the fi rst time, Mintek augmented the vacation work with a soft skills training programme, incorporating Diversity in the Workplace, Time Management, Research Methodologies, Basic Financial Management, Basic Project Management and Business Communication modules in order to better equip the students for the workplace.

The declining postgraduate bursary numbers is of great concern to Mintek. The organisation needs not only graduate engineers and scientists who have theoretical understanding in their chosen fi eld, but also engineers and scientists who are able to undertake research and high-level technology development and innovation.

The main reasons identifi ed for the decline

in the student numbers are both the bursary values for postgraduates that are perceived to be below market averages and graduates reluctant to continue their studies due to fi nancial pressures.

The above scenario will be addressed in the coming fi nancial year by conducting a benchmarking exercise augmented by the implementation of Mintek-wide holistic human capital development strategy.

In-Service Training programme

Students studying towards their national diploma are required to complete one year of work-based learning at a host company in order to graduate. Mintek’s In-Service Training Programme formally integrates a student’s academic studies with relevant work experience at Mintek.

Mintek supported 45 trainees in 2008, mostly within the disciplines of chemical and metallurgical engineering and plans to continue with this programme. To this end, an agreement was reached in February 2009 between Mintek and the Mining Qualifi cations Authority (MQA) whereby the MQA will give Mintek a grant for students studying in the above fi elds among others. This agreement will ensure that the In-Service Training Programme becomes sustainable in the 2009/10 year and beyond.

Internship programmes

Internships at Mintek offer graduates the opportunity of gaining relevant experience within a science council environment. Mintek benefi ts by offering permanent employment to outstanding interns at the end of their training period, where possible.

Mintek participated in the following internship programmes in 2008:

• The Department of Science and Technology Research Professional Development Programme (DST RPDP);

• The Mining Qualifi cations Authority Graduate Development Programme (MQA GDP); and,

• The Department of Science and Technology/National Research Foundation (DST/NRF) Internship Programme.

The DST RPDP aims to address the accelerated development of a group of scientists and research professionals at postgraduate level, specifi cally those who are poised to contribute to the South Africa’s innovation platforms as identifi ed in the National Research and Development Strategy. Mintek hosted fi ve fellows (four continuing and one new) in the areas of nanotechnology (two projects), HIV inhibition, subsistence farming and acid mine drainage.

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2009 – MINTEK ANNUAL REPORT

The DST/NRF Internship Programme aims to provide valuable work experience, accelerated and practical learning opportunities at Mintek to the graduate over the course of twelve months in order to build essential workplace competencies.

The MQA GDP aims to increase the number of technical graduates with the necessary training and qualifi cations required for professional employment in the mining and minerals sector. The target group for the GDP is young unemployed historically disadvantaged South Africans who have competed degrees or diplomas in certain scarce skills disciplines. Mintek hosted 11 interns (seven continuing and four new) in the fi elds of electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering and analytical chemistry.

Technology and Human Resources Industry Programme

The Technology and Human Resources Industry Programme (THRIP) aims to promote increased interaction and diffusion of technology amongst industry, higher education institutions and science, engineering and technology institutions, and to provide an enhanced educational experience through customised participation by students in collaborative projects.

Mintek participates in THRIP as a means to conduct commercially-focused research and development while at the same time exposing students to industry-relevant activities. Mintek had one THRIP-supported project running in 2008 namely, Project AuTEK focusing on the development of new industrial uses for gold.

Girl learner programmes

Mintek’s Girl Learner Job Shadowing programme provides the opportunity for 25-30 grade 10-12 girl learners to undertake a limited period of job shadowing at Mintek during school holidays. Mintek has established good working relations with the offi ces of the MEC for Education in the North West, Limpopo and Western Cape provinces. The objective of programme is to encourage more black girl learners to take up studies in the areas of minerals and metallurgy, thereby addressing the sector’s transformation imperatives. As a direct result of this programme, nine learners schooled in the Limpopo province obtained Mintek bursaries to study chemical engineering at a university of their choice in 2009.

Mintek also hosted a group of girl learners from schools in the greater Johannesburg area for a tour of Mintek and its facilities, as part of the national Cell C “Take-a-Girl-

Child-to-Work” day in May 2008. Again, the aim is to present careers in science and engineering as viable career options for girl learners.

Adopt-a-School Programme

Mintek has adopted the three under-resourced schools in Johannesburg, specifi cally Ferndale High School (Randburg), Itirele-Zenzele Comprehensive High School (Diepsloot) and the Kwadedangendlale High School (Soweto). The aim of the intervention is to improve the level of teaching of Mathematics and Science at the schools.

In 2008 Mintek funded the installation of an on-demand multimedia learner-support and educator-facilitated resource package - Mindset Datacast Solution - at Ferndale High and Itirele-Zenzele High. The three schools also regularly visit the local Technology Resource Activity Centre to do physics and chemistry laboratory experiments, since they do not have well-equipped on-site science laboratories. The top Grade 10-12 learners also visited SciFest Africa in Grahamstown in March 2009.

STEM Promotion

The aims of STEM promotion activities are to generate enthusiasm and interest in Mathematics and Physical Science

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MINTEK ANNUAL REPORT – 2009MINTEK ANNUAL REPORT MINTEK ANNUAL REPORT MINTEK ANNUAL REPORT MINTEK ANNUAL REPORT MINTEK ANNUAL REPORT MINTEK ANNUAL REPORT MINTEK ANNUAL REPORT MINTEK ANNUAL REPORT MINTEK ANNUAL REPORT MINTEK ANNUAL REPORT

amongst learners so that they not only take these subjects at school but excel at them. Once the interest is developed they are encouraged to study towards a career in Science, Engineering and Technology at the Higher Education level and fi nally take up a career in these fi elds. STEM promotion activities are also aimed at creating awareness of Mintek’s bursary programmes.

Mintek participated in various STEM promotion activities in 2008, including learner-focused exhibitions such as SciFest Africa, Sasol TechnoX, Cell C Career Choice, Science Unlimited, university open days and in-bound tours of learners in the FET (Further Education and Training) band to Mintek. Advertisements were also placed in learner- and student-focused publications to solicit interest in Mintek’s bursary programmes to increase the pool of potential Mintek bursars. Minquiz™ is Mintek’s primary annual STEM promotion event and coincides with the National Science Week.

Minquiz combines the rigours of an Olympiad with the excitement of a live on-stage quiz to produce an entertaining competition that promotes excellence in Physical Science and Mathematics. It is South Africa’s premier annual

national Science competition for Grade 12 learners, and has been running since 1988. The aims of Minquiz are to encourage interest in careers in Science, Engineering and Technology, especially in minerals and metallurgy, and to promote an awareness of the importance of minerals and metallurgy to South Africa. A total of 333 schools from all of South Africa’s nine provinces took part in Minquiz 2008.

The questions in Minquiz cover the areas of Physical Science, Mathematics and general knowledge in Science and Technology. The questions are taken from the grade 11 syllabus in line with the Revised National Curriculum Statement, and are developed and independently audited by education professionals.

Mintek’s objective is to have the Minquiz National Finals televised on national TV and to this end, Mintek signed an agreement with e.tv to broadcast highlights of the competition on Frenzy™, a youth-focused magazine show as a start which is to be implemented in 2009.

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