A whole new ball game for Diesel Mech Emmanuel Hlongwane

At Strata Mining Services we take great pride in the strength of our technical team and expertise, capable of providing an all-encompassing, world-class solution for the maintenance and repair of opencast mine equipment in the Northern Cape. It gives us immense joy when we celebrate an internal achievement of congratulating our newest diesel mechanic to add to our team, Emmanuel Hlongwane, who qualified after passing his trade test.

Starting out as an assistant mechanic, Emmanuel persevered in an area that was unfamiliar to him but working with a motivating technical manager at the time, he was pushed to continue learning and he began to enjoy and love what he was doing on a daily basis. And with that enjoyment came growth in his confidence until he realised he could pursue an apprenticeship programme to be a diesel mechanic.

Now that he has obtained his qualification, he is ecstatic: “With absolutely no doubt, this qualification really means the world to me just. I can’t describe it otherwise.”

Emmanuel has always found pleasure in his work at Strata, but now as a qualified diesel mechanic, he admits he is playing a whole new ball game. Each day presents new challenges and Emmanuel rises up to tackle this head-on.

“Nothing gives me more satisfaction after a job is completed and the best part is when it was a very challenging job. There is no better way to improve yourself daily, than with a challenge.”

Emmanuel’s journey to get to this point in his career has come from believing in himself after his manager, Callie Els, saw the potential in him to reach greater heights. “Mr Els has been my motivation from the day I started to pursue my career as a diesel mechanic to where I am today. He saw something in me that I never knew existed and for this, I am very grateful to have a career where I can keep on growing, learning and being proud of.”

Further to his personal growth, Emmanuel shares what the Strata brand means to him. “What inspires me about Strata is that there is growth in the brand and whenever there are opportunities, the management will always give employees a chance or show interest in what we want to accomplish in life. At Strata we are family.”

During his downtime, Emmanuel loves to spend time with his loved ones. When he is alone, he enjoys watching sports, especially rugby – “Rugby is at the top of my list,” he says.