A talent and learning strategy is more than just a framework, it serves as a roadmap designed to attract and retain fit-for-purpose talent by cultivating an inclusive and human-centred experience, thereby empowering employees to grow, innovate and contribute meaningfully to our business.
Exxaro's professional in training (PIT) programme is a flagship initiative designed to develop future leaders by equipping graduates with the skills and experience necessary for success in the energy and mining sectors. The programme combines structured on‑the‑job training with mentorship and technical development, offering participants exposure across various operational and functional areas of the business.
To enhance its impact, the PIT programme underwent a transformation in 2023, with phase 1 of the reimagined experience implemented in 2024.
Key enhancements include benchmarking against leading graduate programmes, conducting coach training and revising the development plan to foster greater inclusivity. The PIT brand was elevated through storytelling initiatives and participation in career fairs. We also optimised reporting on bursar data by developing Power BI dashboards.
Looking ahead to 2025, our focus will be on cross-functional mentoring, digitising the onboarding process, introducing a PIT of the Year award and implementing initiatives to improve graduate interview skills. These enhancements will ensure PIT participants are well equipped to transition into leadership roles.
PIT graduates play a critical role in building Exxaro's internal talent pipeline, with a growing proportion of participants being women and black South Africans. The PIT programme addresses skills shortages and improves diversity in engineering and mining disciplines, further strengthens our leadership culture and advances transformation objectives.
Supporting our people to achieve their full potential is integral to our employee value proposition and the delivery of our strategic objectives. Our approach ensures that we have the right skills, at the right time, in the right place. Our approach is anchored in:
Accountability and responsibility
The SERC oversees talent-related strategies and performance. Line managers and management teams at BUs are responsible for overseeing talent management, supported by our people and performance department.
Regulatory compliance
Exxaro submits annual workplace skills plans and training reports to the MQA, Mining Charter compliance to the DMRE and B‑BBEE scores to the dtic.
Beyond compliance
We spend above the
required threshold for training and development under the Skills Development
Levies Act.
In addition, we:
Our talent management strategy focuses on strategic workforce planning, talent development, leadership capability, compliance training and succession planning to address skills shortages and build a robust leadership pipeline. These efforts ensure Exxaro's workforce is equipped to deliver on strategic objectives while adapting to evolving operational demands.
We achieve this through:
Measuring and monitoring performance
Talent management KPIs, tracked annually on our strategic dashboard, help identify and prepare internal candidates for key positions while addressing identified skills shortages
Education and training
We provide classroom-based training, e-learning platforms, simulators, virtual reality, webinars and masterclasses to broaden access to learning
Innovation and technology
Our people and performance and digital value chain teams regularly update training programmes to reflect technological advancements, including adapting to 4IR on MyNexxt, Power BI dashboards and our data science language curriculum
Our leadership team supports operational excellence, streamlining internal policies by integrating related policies into overarching frameworks, reducing complexity and improving employee access. Additionally, we are reimagining career development across the group as part of our learning and development strategy, with delivery planned for 2025/6 to enhance employee experiences.
CENNERGI
Exxaro's talent management strategy aligns with our Sustainable Growth and Impact objectives, considering global and local trends and the evolving needs of our energy and minerals businesses. This strategy supports organisational inclusivity, future capability development and a healthy, engaged working environment. We leverage technology and supportive leadership to achieve these goals.
By focusing on these talent management strategic objectives, we aim to provide resources beyond commodities, supporting Exxaro's vision of delivering critical solutions for a sustainable, low-carbon future.
These objectives are supported by talent management functions and our culture and values are at the centre of our strategy's success. Our progress against these objectives is unpacked below.
TALENT AND LEARNING STRATEGY
| People development training expenditure | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||
| Total training (Rm) | 402 | 358 | 331 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total training (% of total payroll) | 6.75 | 6.22 | 6 | ||
| Training of black people (Rm) | 363 | 318 | 275 | ||
| Black people trained (% of total payroll) | 6.08 | 5.54 | 5 |
|
R402 million or 6.75% of our payroll spent on training and development |
Community development, such as portable skills training R9.4 million |
Support for Youth Employment Service to train and develop youth from our host communities R28 million |
|
(2023: R358 million or 6.22%)
|
(2023: R7.6 million)
|
(2023: R22 million)
|
|
Job-related skills development (functional and technical training) R200 million |
Bursaries, training professionals, internships, learnerships and skills programmes R173 million |
Developing targeted employees in management programmes, leadership roles, postgraduate studies and support functions R11 million |
|
(2023: R193.5 million)
|
(2023: R126.6 million)
|
(2023: R10.5 million)
|
Our digitalised environment is a critical success factor in executing our strategy and supports the creation of a self-learning culture. By leveraging technology, we expand access to learning opportunities, reach a broader audience and enable group-wide career growth.
To further enhance career development, we are developing a capability system tool to guide employees in capacity building and leveraging various learning and development opportunities. While implementation was delayed in 2024 due to system integration challenges, the tool is on track for deployment in 2025.
108 employees registered for open-source online courses, including LinkedIn, Udemy, Coursera (2023: 1 033), achieving 8% utilisation in 2024 (2023: 70%)
6 788* training interventions were completed on the MyNexxt e‑learning platform as part of our iNNOVAXXION strategy and aligned with connect2NEXT and smart workforce initiatives (2023: 109 745)
99 395 compliance-related courses were completed through MyNexxt (2023: 91 309), ensuring safety, health and environmental compliance
The Powering Knowledge e-learning platform provided learners participating in Exxaro Yes4Youth initiatives with self-learning opportunities, achieving 94% utilisation in 2024 (2023: 63%)
* Most of the courses we offer on MyNexxt are voluntary, and we only enforce the 18-month anti-bribery and anti-corruption course. This, combined with Exxaro's operational effectiveness process, resulted in a lower usage of the platform this year.
We enhanced our internal processes to improve performance achievement, career and succession planning, leadership development and alignment with SLP commitments.
To foster a culture of empowerment, line managers are no longer required to approve employment applications from their team members, enabling employees to freely pursue internal growth opportunities. Additionally, our employee referral reward programme incentivises employees to contribute to talent acquisition by offering rewards for successfully referred candidates who are appointed.
| Internal career mobility | 2024 | 2023 | ||
| Applications for internal growth opportunities (Paterson DL band and higher) | 3 646 | 1 598 |
|---|
We proactively address talent and critical skills shortages and changes when employees are promoted, rotated, resign or retire.
| Leadership programmes |
Occupational level |
Number
of employees |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
| Leading programme | E band | 0 | 8 | |||
| Leadership in connected economies | Paterson DM/ DU band | 18 | 26 | |||
| Essential leadership | DL level | 33 | 21 | |||
| Launchpad leadership | below Paterson DL | 19 | 127 | |||
| Nano sessions | Paterson C band | 32 | 94 | |||
| Women in leadership | 52 | 30 | ||||
Our learning interventions are structured appropriately to support improved employee capabilities through formal studies in traditional programmes and to ensure new capabilities support renewable energy, digitalisation and the new world of work.
We also provide university-accredited short courses in competencies to support automation, neuroscience, change management, data analytics and digital business strategy.
Our talent management strategy supports capability development and succession planning for management and specialist roles in response to new ways of working and global workforce trends.
| Formal studies | Total enrolled | Black people | Black women | ||
| Postgraduate1 | 14 | 13 | 3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate1 | 10 | 9 | 3 | ||
| New skills short courses2 | 20 | 18 | 9 |
|
1 |
South African universities. |
2 |
South African and international universities. |
We are dedicated to advancing employment equity by focusing on the development and promotion of employment equity candidates. Exxaro prioritises vacancies for black people, with a particular emphasis on black women and people with disabilities. Succession planning clusters play a critical role in preparing black employees for immediate or medium-term progression to higher-level positions.
Key progress includes:
RA Reasonable assurance provided.
Our women in mining initiatives focus on growing this talent pipeline through:
| Women talent pipeline | 2024 | 2023 | ||
| Female employees in the workforce | 33% | 31.2% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female PIT graduates | 65% | 61% | ||
| Black women full-time bursars in engineering and mining disciplines* | 61% | 61% | ||
| Women in learnership and internship feeder schemes | 52% | 55% | ||
| Number of black women sponsored at TVET** colleges for access to formal learnerships | 20 | 11 |
| * | South Africans at local universities. | ** | Technical and vocational education and training. |
We are also strengthening our talent pipeline by supporting the education and empowerment of people with disabilities. This effort aligns with our DEI strategy and employment equity targets. Our recruitment policy is integrated with both the DEI and people with disabilities strategies, ensuring a holistic approach to inclusivity.
| People with disabilities | 2024 | 2023 | ||
| Black South Africans with disabilities supported at local tertiary institutions (full-time studies) | 30 (50% women) | 25 (56% women) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internships for people with disabilities appointed (all black people) | 3 (67% women) | 23 (52% women) |
CENNERGI
We align our talent pipeline with Exxaro's strategic direction, focusing on addressing skills shortages in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. To achieve this, we identify full-time students in core disciplines such as engineering, information technology, geology and business support services, prioritising candidates from our host communities.
| Feeder schemes | In training |
Black people |
Black women |
||
| Engineering learners | 639 | 620 | 305 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miner learners | 36 | 36 | 23 | ||
| Operator learners | 231 | 229 | 116 | ||
| Internships | 124 | 124 | 74 | ||
| Business administration learners | 38 | 38 | 35 |
Key professional training outcomes include:
56
full-time bursaries in engineering and mining disciplines
(2023: 54)
R9.3 million
full-time bursariess to address engineering skills shortages
(2023: R1.1 million)
20
matriculant supported in Edumap maths and science bridging programme
(2023: 10)
21
full-time bursaries for tertiary studies awarded to Edumap students and youth from Exxaro's communities
(2023: 12)
Our three-year PIT programme provides a structured blend of academic theory and hands-on workplace experience, preparing graduates to meet current and future business needs. Each participant is guided by a technical coach and gains exposure to various operations. Alongside technical training, leadership and management development form a key part of the programme. Graduates who meet accreditation requirements are supported to qualify as professional engineers.
| PIT programme | 2024 | 2023 | ||
| PIT programme graduates in the talent pipeline | 82 | 85 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of black South Africans | 94% | 96% | ||
| Total programme cost | R64 million | R55 million |
In 2024, Exxaro adapted to new occupational qualifications developed by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations, following the expiry of legacy artisan trade qualifications in 2023. New learners were enrolled under these updated frameworks, ensuring alignment with evolving industry standards.
Strong partnerships enable Exxaro to build competencies that align with our strategic objectives and address national socio-economic priorities, such as youth unemployment, within our host communities.
Through the submission of annual workplace skills plans and training reports to relevant government entities, Exxaro receives grants that enhance our training and development programmes. In 2024, we received R55.3 million in grants due to the successful submission of the MQA Workplace Skills Plan and Annual Training Report (2023: R50.5 million).
Our partnerships with Yes4Youth service providers SME.TAX and Lularides are prime examples of our commitment to empowering young entrepreneurs.
Since 2024, SME.TAX has supported youth employment and skills development by recruiting 50 participants for a two-year programme, which will conclude in April 2026.
The success of the programme will be measured by youth finding employment or starting their own cooperatives, which will contribute to small business ventures. Since its inception, the SME.TAX programme has had a positive impact, with our participants finding employment or entrepreneurial opportunities after their training.
Since April 2024, Lularides trained 250 youths in motorcycle
operation, equipping them with learner's licences and delivery
driver certifications.
Key achievements include:
To expand talent pools, Exxaro advertises opportunities on virtual platforms, attends career fairs at accredited universities and collaborates with disability units at institutions such as the University of Pretoria, Wits University and North West University. To support agile and responsive talent acquisition, we implemented an applicant tracking system in 2024. This platform streamlines internal and external recruitment by enabling current and prospective employees to easily explore, apply for and track job opportunities.
Succession planning and leadership development have enabled numerous internal promotions, highlighting the effectiveness of Exxaro's talent pipeline.
Middle management (Paterson D band)
Senior management (Paterson E band)
We recorded a talent bench of 27.9% for E Band (2023: 25.3%) and 23.8% for D Band (2023: 32.5). Exxaro's organisational effectiveness process impacted our talent bench scores as follows:
It is envisaged that the 2025 succession planning cycle will contribute to a positive movement in employment equity representation on the D and E bands.
Mentorship programmeExxaro's 24-month mentorship programme is critical for developing a diverse leadership pipeline. No training was conducted in 2024 due to our organisational effectiveness process (enabling the successful realignment of roles across the organisation), which resulted in the decline in participants. We anticipate an improvement in participants for the 2025 financial year. |
|
17 total participants 88% black people 47% black women (2023: 126 participants, 89% black, 58% black women) |
 17 mentees trained (2023: 100) |
Recognising the vital contributions of women in mining, we aim to attract and support women across all levels of the business. All BUs have championed inclusivity through their women in mining committees and transformational leadership initiatives, creating a supportive environment for women. We also prioritise developing internal talent and broadening the skills base of women within mine communities to drive local employment and achieve employment equity goals.
Interest in adult education and training remains low due to the age profile of our workforce and lack of interest. To address this, we offer portable skills training in practical areas such as welding, plumbing and civils to support the development of entry-level employees.
Adult education and training equips employees with the skills to achieve national qualification framework level 1 (equivalent to grade 9), enabling functional literacy for health and safety communication, further learning opportunities and access to higher-level roles within the organisation.
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||
| Investment (Rm) | 0.97 | 0.95 | 1.57 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employees enrolled | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| Community members enrolled | 61 | 125 | 52 |
Our primary focus in 2025 will be:
IR