Empowering women in engineering

The Intombazane Development Trust has recently invested in a diesel and gas engine component remanufacture company, as part of its efforts to empower its members and beneficiaries.

The move is seen by the remanufacture company as an effort to embrace the spirit of transformation and development, while maintaining a commitment to uplifting previously disadvantaged sectors of society.

The new shareholder states that it identifies value in Germiston-based Metric Automotive Engineering and appreciates the company’s continuous investment in the latest technology and its commitment to the local economy. The Intombazane Development Trust also recognises the company’s strong ethos of skills development. The involvement of the trust will further enhance this important work, by supporting the entry of black women into engineering fields through study bursaries.

The company has affirmed its Level 4 status broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) status and highlights the importance of genuine transformation initiatives by the private sector to fill gaps in the market and support economic growth. It states that this includes training historically disadvantaged individuals in areas where academic success can be rewarded by employment and personal growth in productive jobs.

The beneficiaries of the recent deal are previously disadvantaged women and the company’s training initiatives aim to further opportunities in fields such as the local remanufacture of large engine components.

The Intombazane Development Trust is a nonprofit organisation owned by black women, whose beneficiaries are young black women under the age of 29. It is an independent trust that aims to maximise the use of its capital for educational purposes.

Metric Automotive Engineering focusses on diesel and gas engine component remanufacture and it conducts work on large diesel and gas engine components including cylinder heads, cylinder blocks, crankshafts and conrods. Its facilities are equipped for a range of testing, grinding, re-profiling, re-boring, surfacing and other specialised engineering services.