Babcock Graduate Programme
Unlocking growth opportunities for Thelma Thangoane
Having recently completed the Babcock Graduate Programme, Thelma Thangoane believes it has given her the foundation to grow her career as an industrial engineer and has laid the groundwork in her quest to secure a managerial role at Babcock in the future.
“This programme has given me the opportunity to mature as an industrial engineer. I have gained experience in business analytics and quality assurance, as well as grow my leadership skills. This bodes well for my future goals at Babcock, which is to continue adding value to the team, grow with the company and fulfil my ambition of becoming a manager one day,” she says.
Thelma commends the programme for providing entry level graduates with the much-needed work experience. Rotating across the various business units also exposes graduates to the different areas of the business. “Through rotation, I was exposed to Babcock’s different operations and acquired multiple business skills. This allowed me to improve and grow my business acumen,” she says.
Some of the fundamentals she has learnt from the programme include data analytics; strategy to meet business goals and objectives as well as meet set targets on set timeframes; understanding of operations – being able to solve problems and improve processes; collaborating with co-workers at all levels and being curious and thinking positive of the outcomes.
Hailing from Limpopo, Thelma completed her matric in 2014 before she enrolled for a National Diploma in Industrial Engineering at the University of Johannesburg. She furthered her studies with a BTech in Industrial Engineering in 2019. Prior to joining the Babcock Graduate Programme, she worked at BMW Rosslyn and Feltex Trim.
“The past few years with Babcock’s Equipment division have been fruitful. It is a great working environment with amazing people who are willing to share their knowledge with young graduates. This has helped me to thrive, even in the face of tough times brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic,” concludes Thelma.