As part of its support of FoodBank South Africa (FBSA), Pioneer Foods has placed two of its graduate interns with FBSA and sponsored two FoodBank employees to participate in a mentorship programme.
FoodBank SA welcomes interns Sandile Njongani to FoodBank Durban and Nothemba Sibisi to FoodBank Johannesburg. Congratulations to Muzi Nkala, the regional development manager of FoodBank Durban, and Ntsieng Lenong, the general manager of FoodBank Johannesburg, on being selected for the Mentoring For Success (MFS) Mentor Masterclass.
Sandile has a BComm in logistics management from North-West University and Nothemba has a national diploma in logistics from the University of Johannesburg. Sandile and Nothemba began their 18-month internship at the beginning of April.
The MFS Mentor Masterclass is a 12-month programme which will help to equip Muzi and Ntsieng to mentor Sandile and Nothemba respectively.
Muzi says FoodBank Durban is already seeing the benefits of having Sandile on the team.
Sandile says he has learnt a great deal in just two months. "I’m getting excellent exposure to the logistics and supply chain operations of FoodBank. And I’ve had the opportunity to spend time at the national office in Cape Town, where I was trained in Pastel, the receiving and despatch system used by FoodBank."
"Visiting the agencies was an awesome experience, and I’ve found the staff to be very caring and willing to go the extra mile to ensure I have all the support I need to realise my goals."
Nothemba says her internship at FoodBank is giving her the scope to think out of the box and gain experience in different types of supply chain processes. "I hope that my knowledge will be beneficial to FBSA in improving its processes."
The Pioneer Foods graduate programme is "intense and challenging", Sandile says, but allows for theoretical knowledge learned in class to be applied in the workplace. Furthermore, it includes practical assignments that should result in improved efficiencies in the workplace.
Tania Botha, the sustainability manager at Pioneers Foods, says Pioneer sees the initiative as a means of building capacity – if not in its own business, then in the industry. "It’s a win on three levels: FoodBank gets an extra pair of hands; the interns get great exposure; and after 18 months on the job, the intern is a known entity to Pioneer."
