MechChem Africa May-June 2020

Training as a strategy for good business

organic course. AmongPacksolve’s unionised workforce its appeal grew by word of mouth. The impressions improved union relation- ships, encouraging shop stewards to enrol as students in the programme. The skills development facilitator explains that learnership programmes can oftenmake the mistake of trying to be too many things from the start. Outcomes are sometimes carefully aligned to specific business roles or tax incentives like quotas, which may hobble an initiative before it can find its feet. “Packsolve reserved someof the to-be-ex- pectedperformanceindicatorsandoutcomes. It narrowed the focus toNQF levels 1,3 and 5 in 2018, then raised the first level toNQF 2 in 2019.ABETlevelsarealsoofferedforemploy- ees who want to improve their foundational skills,” she explains. The programme is voluntary but is avail- able to all Packsolve employees. At first, it had to overcome a lot of scepticism – only a small number of staff enrolled in the first group. But as they shared their experiences, interest grewandenrolmentmorethandoubledbythe next training season. Several of the graduates also returned to further their studies. Those who enrol in the programme are givenonsite training. They are also supported by Packsolve’s management, who appreciate the strategic importance of skills training as being part of the business culture. To ensure the programme gets the right focus and sup- port, Packsolve appointedMorkel to concen- trate on the programme exclusively, allowing her to focus her energy and adopt a hands-on approach with the students. “I’m always engaging with the students, talking to them and getting to know them. This is tomake sure the programme runs well for them. One of the programme’s goals is to promotePacksolve’sstrategyamongworkers, so it’s important they feel the programme is for them and works for them,” Morkel says. Skills for tomorrow Morkel explains that the programme’s future goals aim to be representational and include morewomen on board. “Thoughmanufactur- ing is a male-heavy industry, Packsolve has a considerable number of female employees. Several have already participated and gradu- ated, but we need more women to seize this opportunity and join the classes,” she says. Packsolve is exploring how to align the programme with the manufacturer’s overall strategy. It has already avoided many of the issues that dog other training. Instead of stapling skills onto the company, Packsolve has enabled learning to grow into a part of its cultural foundation. q

As part of its evolution as an agile manufacturer, Packsolve has placed more focus on the skills of its employees and their training opportunities. Even in the early stages, the company says the benefits are already very obvious.

A s modernisation places new ex- pectations on professionals, skills development is becoming more crucial, but remains a critical chal- lenge in South Africa. As a responsible business, Packsolve has made it its mission to contribute to skills development, while developing the capacity for agilemanufactur- ing and continual improvement. In 2019, a group of Packsolve staff cel- ebrated the successful completion of their training in the company’s first learnership programme, which saw a skills transfer to equip staff with newknowledge for their cur- rent roles and for future growth.

“Skills are a strategic pillar for us as an in- dustrial packaging leader,” saysDonéMorkel, Packsolve’s skills development facilitator. “Althoughwe had a slow start, the benefits of the programme have become clear.” Mongezi Nkosi, from the class of 2019, says, “The learnership has had a good influ - enceon thework culture andwhat people see and absorb. The classroom learning relation- shipwasexcellent,andtheknowledgeIgained has had a huge impact on my life.” His comment reflects what makes the learnership programme successful. Packsolve’s peoplework closely together. The greatest challenge of modernisation is not in technology or processes, but in focusing a company’s employees on a common goal. The agile culture a companymust adapt to remain a market leader needs skilled and flexible employees. Strategic training has enabled Packsolve to navigate both requirements. “Internal training is a practical way to see people’s potential,” saysMorkel. “There aren’t upfront expectations at this stage. The pro- gramme is there to seewhowants todevelop.” Morkel explains that the balance develops naturally because the programme follows an

Packsolve has made it its mission to contribute to skills development, while developing the capacity for agile manufacturing and continual improvement.

Product diversification in a changing economy Although ‘off-taker’ market trends linked to digital transformation continue to negatively affect the printing and writ- ing paper market-segments, demand for other products – such as certain grades of packaging and pulp, and dissolving wood pulp cellulose and nanocellulose – remains strong.  The demand for recycled paper and tis- sue paper also remains strong. However, manufacturers need to look at current market trends and their influence on busi - ness to identify where opportunities exist to diversify their business around new product streams.

Some manufacturers, including paper and pulp company Sappi, have started to diversify their operations and product output, andhave established themselves as world-leading producers of specialised cel- lulose,which isused in themanufactureand production of various consumer products across a diverse range of industries. Sappi, in partnership with Edinburgh NapierUniversity,hasalsodevelopedanew low-cost process tomanufacture what has beendubbed the ‘wondermaterial’ –nano- cellulose –which has a number of potential applications, including vehiclemanufactur- ing and energy storage. q

Nanocellulose, a cheap conductive material made from wood pulp.

34 ¦ MechChem Africa • May-June 2020