Students to new recruits – Profica’s work experience initiatives reap rewards

Profica welcomed previous Vacation Programme students Joshua Tsoai and Neo Mabuza into the company’s 12-month experiential Intern Programme in South Africa this year, continuing Profica’s support of young professionals in the construction industry. Through the programme, graduates get the chance to develop their project management skills under the guidance of seasoned industry professionals. Both Joshua and Neo are BSc (Hons) in Construction Management graduates.

Profica is focused on skills development, with a variety of initiatives in place, including a Vacation Programme, Internship Programme and Bursary Programme, to ensure students and graduates can benefit from valuable work opportunities and that a pipeline of fresh talent is coming into the industry. “Annually, we welcome Construction Management students during the mid-year holiday break for our Vacation Programme, which provides valuable work experience and exposure to the industry, as well as providing a rich source of new talent that will take the business to new heights,” says Profica CEO Tim White.

Profica can count a number of talented project managers in the company’s ranks who have all been with the company since their tertiary education and have previously participated in the annual Vacation Programme, followed by the Graduate Intern Programme. Mukesh Govind, Hiral Narayan, Balulekile Sanqela and Khutso Selowa are now working on major projects across the African continent.

“The vacation student program is a program that has really worked for us as an entry point for top talent. We see this success in the graduates that have grown within our team and within their various roles,” says Profica CEO Tim White. “It’s fantastic to see the massive development and growth, both personally and professionally, in all of the Project Managers that come through the programme. We’re investing in young talent to enable them to make a valuable contribution to projects across the continent.”

Profica Project Manager Khutso Selowa first arrived at Profica in June 2018 as a Vacation Programme student before taking a fulltime internship in January 2019. He cut his teeth on the transformation of the retail mall at Vodacom World into a digitally connected one-stop tech innovation hub, before working on the sizeable Chartwell Summerset Village residential development. His is now gaining specialist healthcare sector experience working on the construction of a new 400-bed hospital in Alberton.

“When I joined Profica I knew my career was in good hands, and with hard work and dedication, I’d build a strong foundation and experience,” says Khutso. “The Vacation Programme helped me visualise what I was learning at university. Not only was it good exposure for the role I would eventually play when I graduated, but it provided a different understanding of the courses I was being taught and ultimately a strong academic advantage when completing my BSc (Hon) Construction Management. Profica were able to recognise my research skills from university and let me lead the BIM and Smart Technology Centre of Excellence, further harnessing my potential.”

“We’re so proud of the success of all our students, and look forward to being part of the development of many more young professionals as we enable real transformation and skills development in the construction project management industry,” says White.