Droogfontein Solar Power’s head office team participated in this year’s Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day® campaign by hosting ten Grade 11 girls from Claremont High School. The company, which specialises in operating independent power projects, chose to partner with Claremont High School due to the school’s focus on mathematics and science and because the majority of the learners come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“The school’s ethos fits in well with our SED philosophy and these are learners who could potentially go into the power sector one day,” said Mark Pickering, General Manager of Droogfontein Solar Power.
The focus of the programme was to expose the learners to the Renewal Energy Sector, a corporate working environment and to potential job opportunities in the industry. Staff members from each area of the business discussed their roles and what the learners should be interested in, should they decide to pursue a career in that area. In addition, the learners benefited from a demonstration of a rooftop PV system and a presentation on the importance of renewable energy. They were able to put into practice what they had learned during the course of the day by participating in a research project, which they presented to a panel that included the school’s Maths and Science Teacher amongst others.
The highlight for many learners was the research project and presentation. Intisār Constant, Grade 11 learner from Claremont High School said, “The whole day was great. I specifically enjoyed the research part of the project. It was engaging and it was nice interacting with people and finding out what they think about Renewable Energy.”
“We are pleased that this group of enthusiastic learners have been exposed to the fundamentals of Renewable Energy and that they may possibly consider the industry as a future career option,” concluded Pickering