SAB Agricultural Internship Programme injects 27 graduates to bolster the agricultural economy in South Africa since 2020
Through its Agricultural Internship Programme, the South African Breweries (SAB) has, since 2020, literally unearthed opportunities by inspiring young agricultural graduates to put their hands in the soil and plant a future in the industry. On Tuesday 13 December a total of 10 aspirational young agriculturalists officially graduated in a ceremony held in Kimberly, Northern Cape.
The programme is designed to provide Agricultural graduates an intensive focussed training program, where they will gain insight into every aspect of agricultural development within the SAB environment. In it, young South Africans with a passion for agriculture are growing a better future for themselves.
Founder and brainchild of this initiative, Director of Agricultural Development and Sustainability for the Africa zone, Josh Hammann says, “Agriculture is the heart and soul of our economic engine. It is an industry that quite literally sustains our nation, and we are proud to play a role in lifting it up. These 10 young leaders are sure to take the industry to new heights. We are proud of each and every one of them.”
Through this programme, these young, ambitious agriculturalists have learned more than a few lessons when it comes to growing a future for themselves. The programme was made possible by the PIC funding after the take-over of SAB by AB InBev.
Every year 10 students from leading South African Tertiary Institutions were identified through a strict selection process involving more than 2 500 applicants over the three years. For the 2022 programme 1270 applications were received, which Hammann believes is a testament to the popularity of the programme.
The main aim of the programme is to bridge the gap between theoretical theory learned at university and the execution of this theory in practice. Hence the slogan for the programme being “Bridging the Gap”. The objective is to train, mentor and developed the Interns to enter the workplace with confidence.
The approach of the programme is holistic and making use of subject matter experts the Interns get exposed to several legs of the Agricultural Industry like advisory services, research, breeding, economy, quality assurance and farming. “The programme helps them to make the right career choice to excel and apply their theoretical knowledge with confidence,” says Hammann
To date, three Interns have been permanently employed by SAB, with the aim of permanently employing two more Interns in 2023. Going into 2023 and beyond, he says this programme has an evolving nature and will be adjusted on an annual basis to keep up with the fast-changing Agricultural environment. “The current format of the programme is working very well and will not be changed much, however the content will always have to be current and accurate.”
Hammann is excited to involve the interns from other countries in the AB InBev stable to increase the impact of knowledge sharing and widen the net of opportunities for graduates. “With funding secured until 2024, we are excited to see how far we can push this programme and inject some young and skilled innovation into our agricultural economy,” Hammann concludes.
