What it does: Manages and maintains freight rails, ports, port terminals and pipelines in South Africa.
Best known for: Transnet is the sole owner of the railway, ports and pipeline infrastructure in South Africa.
Staff stats: Over 56,000 employees spread over 8 operational divisions, with about 50% of employees working for Transnet Freight Rails (TFR) division.
The good bits: Good job security, high pay and good benefits, a culture of learning where employees are provided many training programs and encouraged to improve themselves.
The not so good bits: Lack of direction and strategy because of continuous changes in leadership and unqualified government appointees, affirmative action and quotas leading to less qualified employees getting promotions and bureaucracy leading to slow implementation of ideas.
The history of Transnet can be traced back to the 1940s when the first railway system was developed around 1940, in Cape Town. After that, various regional railway systems were brought under government control until the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910. After the union, South African Railways and Harbours administration was established as part of the government. In 1981, the country's railways, ports, road transportation, aviation and pipelines were combined and renamed as South African Transport Services (SATS). SATS was given a company status in 1991 and renamed to Transnet SOC Ltd. In 2006, South African Airlines split from Transnet to operate as an independent airline.
Transnet provides many benefits for its permanent employees and graduate trainees. You can expect 20+ paid holidays per year. Employees are eligible for four months of paid maternity leave and a pension plan fully contributed by the company. Employees receive subsidised medical cover and some extra cover, if employed in a dangerous occupation. Housing allowance helps employees cover the cost of accommodation and employees also expect a bonus at the year-end, usually equal to a month's pay.
Transnet is known for its inclusive, friendly and diverse culture. In general, you’ll be working in a relaxed environment with friendly colleagues. There are many training programs and employees are encouraged to pursue studies. Long and tedious decision-making processes slow down the progression but accepted as part of a government-run institution. The company lacks direction because of constant changes at the top and political appointments, but it doesn’t affect the culture of the company and is generally accepted as the norm.
There are initiatives taken to support Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) objectives, with targets set for 2020 and beyond. This has led to some friction between employees but generally doesn’t affect the work environment.
Transnet contributes to society through its Transnet Foundation. Various grants and programs are mainly divided into education, health and sports.
In education, Transnet’s school adoption programs help schools to build labs, ICT centres and other classrooms as needed. In partnership with the Eastern Cape Education Development Fund, it has created more than 250 telematic centres where students can take part in online classrooms. It has also partnered with the Independent Schools Association of South Africa to create teacher development programs.
In health, its most popular initiative is the Phelophepa Train Program. It’s a three coach train that visits the rural areas of South Africa and provides general health services. It visits around 70 stations per year and provides healthcare services to over 350,000 South Africans.
In sport, it operates the Transnet Football School of Excellence. The school allows talented youth to develop their footballing skills while maintaining good academic results.
At Transnet, graduates will be working at one of South Africa’s largest state-owned companies. Expect to be surrounded by friendly colleagues and generally have a relaxed work environment. Career progression is slow, but employees are compensated well and receive great benefits. Lack of direction can be frustrating and the long and slow decision-making process can hold back ambitious and talented individuals.
Transnet hires graduates all through the year for various positions. The graduate must be a South African citizen aged between 18-35. The jobs are advertised in national newspapers, Transnet career portal and sometimes on LinkedIn. Candidates must visit their career page, register for an account and apply for the desired position. The page has an advanced job search feature as well as some helpful guides to improve your chances of getting selected. Once you create an account you have the ability to set up job alerts as well.
The interview process can last from three days to two months depending on the position. After the deadline, the received applications are matched against the criteria. The selected candidates have to face an online exam related to the applied position. Candidates who pass this exam will face a panel interview. The line manager, subject matter experts and someone from HR will be present for the panel interview. This will have technical questions related to your field as well as general questions like why you want to work at Transnet, why we should hire you over other candidates etc. HR will get in touch with the candidate if he or she is selected.
Transnet also has other graduate trainee programs that focus on specialised areas. For example, the Engineering Development Program hires around 100 engineers and technicians annually. This is a two-year program and the hiring process and criteria are slightly different. The Young Professional in Training program is targeted towards HR, risk control and governance and strategy. This is also a two-year training program with a slightly different hiring process.
With multiple operating divisions and locations spread across South Africa, graduates have many different career paths available to them. Preference is given to internal employees making it easier to qualify for a higher position. There is an internal transfer scheme available to employees so they can switch to a different division to advance their career.
If you’re joining through one of the specialised programs, you can expect a good increase in salary during the first two years. There are continuous assessments and a pay increase, if you’ve successfully passed the assessment. There are continuous training programs and the generally relaxed environment helps graduates focus on training.
Career progression can be slow at Transnet. It’s normal for employees to remain in the same position for four to five years.