Sasol’s annual Techno X creates valuable opportunities for learners to explore potential career paths, particularly in science, technology, engineering, the arts, mathematics and innovation (STEAMI). Sasol’s first female welder Ketsitseng Kebile, fondly known as KK, told us how such events shape opportunities for South African youth to participate in the world of the future.
Kebile’s initial interest in information technology was turned on its head when she was introduced to the world of welding at a government-hosted career expo, of which Sasol was a part. She pursued a two-year Sasol learnership to qualify as a double-coded welder, a rare skill in South Africa. Kebile was the only one of eight women in her cohort to qualify and has worked at Sasol since 2010, studying further to qualify in welding inspection and now serving as a maintenance and engineering planner.
Her advanced skills, success in her field and desire to influence more young people, particularly women, to explore their options in the science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) fields, have made her a popular Sasol Techno X advocate.
STEM fields have long been perceived as abstract, difficult and reserved for the select few. However, they are potential gateway subjects to rewarding individual careers and powerful contributors to broader economic growth and development.
Techno X aims to demystify and challenge prevailing assumptions of STEAMI through hands-on engagement, investigation and exploration of how these fields are at the heart of everyday life.
The expo sets out to expose learners who have systemically been excluded from these fields and give them an opportunity to interact with professionals involved in producing related goods and services.
Kebile says that the young people she engages with at the event are often surprised when she demonstrates the extent of a field like welding by showing them the wealth of welded products all around them.
“It fascinates them when you tell them stories and it opens their eyes to see what welding is and what is possible in such a career.”
Maximising career exposure opportunities
The five-day career guidance exhibition has grown substantially since its inception in 2000. Exhibitors from industry and higher education institutions are invited to participate alongside Sasol with the goal of presenting a comprehensive view of available STEAMI careers and providing information about the subjects and results needed to access opportunities in those careers.
Learners are given the opportunity to engage experientially with the latest in rapidly changing technology, such as artificial intelligence, with the goal of leaving them with an indelible impression of STEAMI as accessible and possible. Events and learner exhibitions give visiting youth the chance to showcase their technical and artistic expertise, from learner-manufactured solar vehicles and recyclable furniture design to a ‘Trashion Show’ exhibiting garments made from recycled materials.
The expo actively encourages business skills, introducing business entrepreneurs to showcase how learners might monetise their ideas and how technology enables the development of new equipment, solutions to problems and ways of doing business.
It also presents the social sciences, significant relevant issues such as decarbonisation and the green economy and brings in speakers to discuss social issues that are affecting young people and how they can mobilise to find solutions to some of these issues.
Besides introducing learners to possible careers in STEAMI, the expo disseminates valuable information on learning and employment opportunities. It educates learners on the many different available career paths and the entry levels these careers require. This is done with the objective of countering the discouragement learners may experience in the face of the high entry demands of many science-related careers.
Kebile says this is particularly important for learners who do not perform well enough to apply for university. Without events such as Techno X they lack exposure to alternative development pathways and often find themselves at a loss not knowing what to do.
Accelerating interest in STEAMI
The week-long event takes place every August following government’s National Science Week, with the venue alternating between Sasolburg in the Free State and Secunda in Mpumalanga, the locations of Sasol’s major operations.
In 2022, the event went virtual for the first time. In the interest of greater accessibility, all future events will have a hybrid format.
Learners from participating schools across the country as well as from Lesotho and Mozambique attend Sasol Techno X. The 2023 expo attracted 20 968 on-site attendees and a further 951 online participants over five days.
Having taken an active role in sharing her story and experiences with learners attending Techno X, Kebile is particularly passionate about encouraging young women to consider male-dominated professions. She says that the difficulty of pursuing such professions is far less about the physical requirements than it is about challenging masculine norms within the field and women’s own perceptions.
“I tell young women that it’s not as scary as it looks once you’re in the field. For example, welding is just like sewing, but with metal.”
Ketsitseng Kebile
Extending project reach through collaboration
External exhibitors and contributors bring additional value to the event, contributing the latest and most sophisticated available technologies. These institutions, companies and individuals offer their time, resources and expertise to showcase innovation and create immersive experiences for attending learners.
In 2023, 61 exhibitors, including Sasol’s internal teams, and 84 speakers showcased a wide variety of STEAMI innovations, workshops, initiatives, bursary and career opportunities.
Sasol’s partners undertake outreach and mobilisation work throughout the year to engage participating schools and involve learners in projects that culminate in exhibitions and awards at Techno X. This is part of the company’s aim to implement STEM education programmes in schools.
Inspiring young learners
Kebile has made it her personal project to reach beyond the geographical boundaries of Techno X, volunteering her time to speak at schools outside of Sasol’s immediate radius.
She is conscious of the lack of career knowledge among learners unable to attend Techno X and highlights the importance of finding ways to extend the project beyond its current geographical reach.
Besides widening the expo’s physical reach, there is also potential to extend its target age group beyond the current senior phase and post-school target ages.
The prevailing narrative of STEM subjects and careers being difficult and therefore out-of-reach begins early. Challenging it needs to start in early childhood education. There is an opportunity to focus on young learners and come up with content that draws on their excitement and creates a passion for science before children even enter school. Offering immersive, interactive experiences that enable self-discovery at an early age will stay with them for life.
Sasol Techno X is exposing learners to information and experiences that could contribute to building a critical mass of STEAMI professionals with the ability to shape South Africa’s future for the better.
Source: The original version of this article was published in the Trialogue Business in Society Handbook 2023 (26th edition)
