Nomfundo blossoms in HR role
Nomfundo Mkhwebani, 29, is relishing the opportunity to work in human resources at Canyon Coal: she is developing diverse skills while growing the careers of other young staff
Nomfundo is a spontaneous young woman who grew up with her grandmother in Witbank. Last year, she was promoted from receptionist and PA to human resources officer. Since then, she has developed fine communication and negotiation skills through her community liaison work.
“I often meet up with communities around our operations who have many questions about our recruitment processes. I have learnt to be empathetic and explain that we follow a fair process. We work with the Department of Labour and community leaders to employ people with the right skills.
“It has been a steep learning curve,” she says, smiling. “But I have learnt how to build relationships with the community. Key to this is always listening to their needs and being completely transparent in our actions.” Nomfundo adds that she really enjoys this aspect of her role, although it is not without its challenges.
She also thrives on working with our bursary students – Nomfundo loves to see them growing their skills and making a tangible difference in the company. Having lacked the financial means to study immediately after school, Nomfundo finds it fulfilling to help others pursue their dreams.
“I draft the bursary ads, send them out to various government departments and call in the shortlisted candidates for interviews. I really enjoy helping the students as my personal circumstances forced me to take a gap year before I could go and study marketing.”
Nomfundo adds that she is impressed by Nthabiseng Mueti, who joined the company as a bursary student and has been appointed as environmental officer. “She has high aspirations and is always willing to work.”
Nomfundo would like to see more women working in the mining sector and engineering department as she believes they have a unique contribution to make.
She is looking forward to enrolling for a degree in human resources next year as she believes this will pave the way for a long and fulfilling career with Canyon Coal. Her goal is to keep growing with the company and become a human resources manager.
“Working in the human resources field in mining is interesting as there are many facets to it. I love working with the diverse and dynamic people in the company and learning from them.”
