ArcelorMittal South Africa is committed to uplifting and improving the quality of life in the communities within which we operate with special reference to previously disadvantaged communities through the investment of time, knowledge and skills.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is in accord with our value of Sustainability and facilitates closer engagement with stakeholders in ensuring a sustainable contribution to the development of local communities.
Our key CSR focus areas are:
- Education
- Health
- Community development/Social upliftment
- Voluntering
Education
Poor education and a lack of skills is perhaps the biggest and universally recognised stumbling block to a prosperous future. With the skills market now effectively globalised, the shortage of domestic skills is exacerbated by international competition for a limited pool of skills.
Education and skills development is one of the main areas of focus for the company with the view to increasing the pool of skilled workers we can draw on for our own benefit, but also in recognition of our wider responsibility to share our technical expertise, and build local capacity for the future.
The key pillar of ArcelorMittal South Africa’s skills policy – and also that of the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) – is to align tertiary education and other institutional training with the actual skills required by both the public and private sectors. ArcelorMittal South Africa’s core business relies heavily on being able to access skilled people in the scientific, engineering and technological fields.
Improving mathematics and science performance at schools in the communities around the company’s areas of operation provides a sustainable resource for ArcelorMittal South Africa and works towards alleviating the national skills crisis.
ArcelorMittal South Africa plays a leading role in this arena and has been recognised as one of the leading companies in skills development and training. Underlining this commitment is the company’s multi-million rand investment in building schools and Science Centres across the country.
Health
At ArcelorMittal South Africa it is critical that we conduct our business in a responsible manner – through careful consideration of the impact of our actions not only on our bottom line, but on the environment in which we operate. For the communities where we have operations, our goal of “transforming tomorrow” requires that we take an active interest in their health and wellbeing.
Social upliftment
ArcelorMittal South Africa continues to invest significant resources to improve our social footprint by uplifting and empowering the communities surrounding our operations. We have a renewed focus on our goal of contributing to a society with improved health, through food and income provision, skills development, and encouraging, self-sustainable environmental management practices.