Bp Southern Africa (bpSA) has been named the Top Empowered Company in Education and Skills Development and was also a finalist in the Diversity Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace category at the Top Empowerment awards ceremony at the Indaba Hotel in Sandton on 20 July 2023.
“Being recognised as the Top Empowered Company in Education and Skills Development is a key milestone for bpSA because it speaks to our investment in the country’s talent pool. This award reaffirms the positive impact of our deliberate focus on skills development and education initiatives, each addressing specific aspects of skills development, youth empowerment and people support,” says Hamlet Morule, executive for communications & external affairs, bpSA. “We are also delighted to have been a finalist in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace category given our strategic aim to be an inclusive South African company.”
Top Empowerment Companies (TOPCO) is one of the most respected brands in terms of benchmarking companies that demonstrate leadership in the broad field of black empowerment. Top Empowerment Awards chart the progress towards creating a more inclusive economy and provide inspiration to organisations in the public and private sectors by showcasing what could be achieved.
bpSA’s skills development initiatives are organized into three pillars: people-focused programmes, leadership programmes, and youth-focused programmes.
Internally, bpSA runs both formal and informal training programmes aimed at helping its workforce grow their skills and progress their careers. In addition to ongoing skills programmes, the company offers bursaries for employees and their dependants as well as custom leadership programmes in partnership with Wits Business School, the Gordon Institute of Business Science and Duke Corporate Education.
With the country’s youth unemployment levels at record highs, the company also prioritises creating opportunities for young people.
“We have a big focus on supporting young people in their early careers. Through our graduate and learnership programmes, we provide the country’s youth with the headstart they need to create a fulfilling career,” he says.
External youth programmes are run in partnership with the Energy Mobility Education Trust (EMET), which is a 5% shareholder in bpSA. EMET focuses on young black South Africans and people with disabilities. With bpSA as its sole sponsor, Its maths and science programme has supported over 2 500 beneficiaries, and provided 244 bursaries for tertiary education, producing 140 graduates so far.
bpSA has been on a multipronged transformation journey for many years with 45% of employees being women, 67% African, 17% coloured and 8% Indian.
“We still have some way to go but are intentional about contributing meaningfully to the country’s transformation on our journey to becoming an integrated energy company,” Morule concludes.