Jobs in Secunda

A blog from property group Rawsons describes Secunda as a “happy mix of coal and cosmos”.  Situated in close proximity to Johannesburg (just 135km, to be precise), and considered the centre of Mpumalanga’s energy belt, the town is perhaps best known for the extremely high chimney stacks of its Synfuels plant – together with its “close proximity to one of the biggest underground mining complexes in the world, made up of five huge coal mines”.

Although the South African economy has been hit, in general, by a slump in demand for the commodities coal and oil, among others, in recent years, local Rawsons franchisee Natasha Herbst describes the town as “an active business hub, with a highly urbanised and growing population”.

Aside from being located in the heart of cosmos country, where a magnificent swathe of pink and white wild flowers can be witnessed as far as the eye can see each autumn, Secunda also offers visitors the Graceland Hotel, Casino and Country Club and the Secunda Mall with its Ster Kinekor movie complex, restaurants for a bite – casual or fancy, according to your budget – and more than 90 stores to browse through.

Three stand-out venues for sport in Secunda include the challenging Gary Player-designed golf course, with its mixture of elevation changes, challenging water features, green fairways, and strategically placed bunkers, plus its Augusta Club Lounge for a beverage (or several) and a light meal thereafter; the Grootdraai Dam, located on the upper reaches on the Vaal River, where camping, together with water sports such as windsurfing and angling are popular; and the Lake Umuzi Waterfront development, which boasts an extensive range of sporting facilities, including a water park, putt-putt course, bowling alley, indoor cricket, soccer/netball facilities, and is home each year to the Cosmos 3-in-1 MTB and Marathon events.

A glance at Accuweather.com in the month of September, for example, shows rather hot temperatures of between 28 and 32 degrees on any given day. But is Secunda always sunshine and wildflowers?

WeatherSpark comes to the rescue with a fuller picture: yes, “summers are long, warm, wet, and partly cloudy, while winters tend to be short, cold, dry, and mostly clear”. In fact, a temperature variation of between 25 and 31 degrees is an average high in any season; although the most popular months in which to visit Secunda for outdoor sporting activities remain mid September to mid October, together with mid December to mid April.

If you’re looking to relocate to Secunda, the career opportunities will be ripe for the picking – particularly if you’re looking at engineering jobs or mining jobs.

Peruse the likes of a senior safety officer, a customer support/sales rep for an equipment company, and an industrial relations position related to mining; and a professional civil engineer, a technical sales rep, working foreman, or professional structural engineer in the engineering niche.

Loading your CV up on the jobs portal Executive Placements will also assist prospective employers in getting in touch with you, should your level of experience and qualifications in these roles appeal to them.

Should you be on the path to taking up a CEO job, be sure to browse financial manager or senior reporting accountant roles that are needed in Secunda.

While Payscale advises that the average salary in Secunda is approximately R290k, it is vital to note that the cost of living in the town is considerably lower than South Africa’s national average.

This aside, mechanical engineers, process engineers and operations managers do extremely well – earning up to and even more than R1-million per annum.

Popular employers continue to be Sasol Mining, of course; Megchem, which provides a wide range of engineering support for renewals, plant modifications, and process improvements; and EOH Group, which specialises in the provision of technology services to business entities and government departments.

Secunda has experienced significant growth over the past five years due expansions that are underway at the Sasol complex and, according to the town’s latest municipal planning report, has a population that is growing at a rate of 2,8 percent  per year, or  approximately double the national rate.

The Rawson property group therefore predicts that demand for affordable housing will continue, as long as the job market remains bouyant.

So make your choice between a majestic eight-bedroom home for around R3 762 500, a three-bedroom townhouse with all the mod-cons for R2 650 000, or an easygoing one or two-bedroom apartment for in the vicinity of R760 000. It all depends on the number of “inmates” you have, and your preferred lifestyle.

Young families will be spoilt for choice when it comes to nearby schools, with the private Curro primary and high schools proving popular options, amongst the healthy mix of more affordablr government options. Further, there are three private hospitals in the vicinity, and a Sasol Mine Occupational Health Hospital too, to address any health issues or emergencies – be they minor or surgical, paediatric or job-related.

Fifty-six percent of homeowners have lived in Secunda for 11 years or more, and prices have doubled since 2014, reveals market intelligence expert, Lightstone Property.

An interesting fact for those who prize their general knowledge, is that the Sasol Two plant does not, in fact, showcase the town’s tallest chimney. This belongs, instead, to the Sasol Three plant, which is 301m high.

This Eskom-type chimney is made up of four 301m-high refractory brick-lined and concrete-constructed flues of 4.6m in diameter, with a windshield of 292m in height and an internal diameter of 4.6m. Chimney foundations were laid using both vertical and raked piles.

Most importantly, this chimney is one of the tallest free-standing structures in the entire southern hemisphere, so it’s worth making a turn there if you’re in the region; no matter the reason.

Secunda has a liberation-rich history, which features some of the country’s bravest freedom fighters. Read more about it, here.

An article on Daily Maverick advises that South Africa’s coal region – concentrated in Mpumalanga – finds itself at a crossroads. Over the next few decades, countries around the world will slowly, but very steadily, be transitioning towards a more sustainable future.

Yet, the economy of Mpumalanga, and the towns located within its borders, are unlikely to suffer. In fact, the combination of the region’s young, dynamic and skilled population, together with the greening activities currently under investigation – such as “the roll-out of embedded generation (mostly solar and battery systems), coupled with investment in energy efficiency” – are likely to generate considerable new opportunities for local entrepreneurs and incoming businesses, alike.

The article suggests that the energy sector is an obvious starting point in this regard, and that renewable energy, in particular, “carries great potential due to grid access, proximity to load centres, land availability, and a relatively favourable climate”.  This has seen the community of Emalahleni being designated a Renewable Energy Development Zone to facilitate large-scale investment. 

Experts predict that Sasol’s existing Fischer-Tropsch green hydrogen facility in Secunda, and the roll-out of solar and battery storage facilities, could further enhance the region’s potential.

Other economic opportunities for entrepreneurs, and businesses of all kinds, to explore in the time to come, include the likes of: biofuels production for aviation and trucks; green manufacturing; the production of decarbonised iron and steel products, powered by green hydrogen; and battery minerals processing and beneficiation, allowing Secunda and other towns in the region to become important cogs in South Africa’s renewable energy and battery value chains.

A sustainable green chemicals industry could certainly “be built on the back of biomass availability and green hydrogen, leveraging the existing chemicals complex in Secunda”, the article continues, while coal ash “could be used in cement production and brick-making, mine backfilling, mine drainage treatment, soil amelioration, and land reclamation”.

For skilled and progressive individuals looking to relocate to Secunda, and its surrounds, the future seems bright.