In association with the Student Sponsorship Programme (SSP), Babcock is helping build the future of South Africa’s brightest young minds. For more than a decade, the business has financially and socially supported numerous high school and tertiary scholars through SSP as a corporate donor of the programme.
Supporting bright minds of the future
SSP was initiated in 2000 to nurture pioneering leaders who can give back positively to society. The non-profit trust has provided educational opportunities to over 1,500 talented low-income learners from around South Africa. With help from individual and corporate donors like Babcock, SSP strives to develop future leaders from financially disadvantaged communities who have the potential to excel in a diversity of career fields.
Learners from low-income homes are selected by SSP after undergoing a rigorous recruitment process that begins in Grade 6 and culminates with student placement in partner schools at the beginning of Grade 8. Qualifying criteria for candidates include academic excellence, emotional intelligence, financial need and leadership potential.
Linda Mnisi, Finance Manager at SSP, explains that to ensure scholars thrive in their learning environments, each child is carefully matched to a partner school. She adds that besides tuition fees, expenses such as uniforms, school supplies and transport where necessary are taken into account, ensuring comprehensive economic support for every learner. Each student’ss personal development needs are also prioritised.
Support in this regard includes an orientation session and termly meetings with scholar programme officers who monitor the academic progress and wellbeing of each child. In addition, SSP has a mentorship programme where learners receive guidance and nurturing from a personally assigned mentor throughout their high school careers. With regular feedback from SSP, donors are able to support and track the academic record of their sponsored scholars.
While SSP primarily facilitates five-year scholarships to academically distinguished high school students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds, they also assist donors in managing the sponsorship of tertiary learners.
Currently Babcock sponsors nine learners attending some of the top public and private secondary schools in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape, as well as 10 students in various South African tertiary institutions.
Ashley Craft, Diversity and Inclusion Manager at Babcock, says the business views education as key to economic growth and social mobility in the country. “SSP aligns with our sustainability objectives and has an exceptional track record of providing deserving academically outstanding scholars the opportunity to overcome socio-economic challenges and excel throughout their school careers and beyond,” she comments.
By sponsoring young students, Babcock also creates a pipeline of skills to feed back to the business. “Our various divisions offer a wide range of career opportunities that extend beyond engineering. These include communications, finance and sales and marketing,” she adds.
Abigail Mkhwanazi is an SSP alumni who joined Babcock four years ago. Her primary school principal suggested that she apply for the programme and she was successfully placed by SSP at Redhill School. From an early age, Abigail had her heart set on becoming an accountant. After she matriculated in 2014, she went on to complete a BCom degree at the University of Johannesburg with the support of Babcock. Abigail was keen to start working straight away and was delighted to have the opportunity to join Babcock’s graduate student programme four years ago, where she received on-the-job training and support for her current role as an accountant for the group’s head office.
“I’ve had a personal journey with Babcock and SSP throughout my high school and tertiary education for which I am deeply grateful. Babcock has helped me build up my experience and skills over the last four years and gave me a strong career foundation,” says Abigail.
A primary focus of Babcock’s social sustainability strategy is to create a people-centred business where everyone is included, supported and empowered to unlock their potential. The business believes that contributing to the local economy through social value initiatives is key to having a positive impact on the communities in which Babcock operates.
