Hisense SA nurtures local talent pool

For Jacobs, the benefits also extend beyond his own career. "It's not only work, skills are also being transferred to local people," he said, pointing to the training and skills development opportunities available to workers at Hisense.

That transfer of skills is reflected in the training provided on the production floor, according to Mou Xing, a Chinese process engineer at the TV factory. New local employees receive training on the production process, hands-on instruction for their respective tasks, safety training and on-site observation before starting work. They also receive ongoing guidance and checks during production.

As local employees gain experience, some have begun to take on greater responsibilities. "After systematic training, South African local employees can independently complete the main work of their departments and handle and provide feedback on problems," Mou said. "For example, my colleague Minnies can take over the entire department's work when I am on leave."

The local employee Mou referred to is Ayrton Minnies, a process technician team leader at the TV factory. His job at Hisense is his first, and he chose it out of an interest in electronics.

"By working for all these years now, I've made a lot of progress in my life," Minnies said. "I would say there's a lot of skills I've picked up during my time at Hisense."

He put that learning simply: "Basically, I've learned how to make my own TV, not basically my own TV, but how it looks on the inside and everything."

Beyond his own growth, Minnies said Hisense has also had a positive impact on Atlantis by providing jobs for local residents.

Today, the two factories at Hisense SA Industrial Park employ around 760 local people. "At the fridge factory, we have approximately 550 local employees," Lorenzo McKinna, production supervisor at the factory, told Xinhua.

"Many of the employees who work here, as you know, are from the local community," he said, adding that the company provided on-the-job training so employees did not have to go outside the factory to acquire those skills.

According to McKinna, while creating jobs, the industrial park has also helped drive the development of the local industrial chain. "We have quite a few suppliers, local suppliers, that have benefited from the Hisense factory being here."

The experiences of Minnies and McKinna are borne out by the broader impact of Hisense SA Industrial Park, said Jiang Shun, deputy general manager of Hisense SA and general manager of the industrial park.

According to Jiang, the park has created about 1,000 direct jobs and over 5,000 indirect jobs locally, while about 70 percent of management positions are held by locals.

The park has also helped drive employment along the local supply chain, with nearby foam and carton factories among those supplying it. More than a dozen local companies have so far been integrated into its supporting industrial chain, Jiang said, adding that the park has also helped them adopt new technologies, processes and equipment.

In his view, the experience at Hisense SA is a direct rebuttal to the recent "China squeeze" narrative advanced by some Western think tanks and media outlets, which argues that China's manufacturing capacity not only challenges Western industries, but also crowds out industrialization opportunities in Global South countries.

For Africa, Jiang noted, the arrival of Chinese companies brings not only job opportunities, but also advanced manufacturing technologies and expertise that can help raise the level of local manufacturing.

"Only by raising the level of local manufacturing can you get the whole African economy moving," Jiang said. "I don't think it's a squeeze. It definitely plays a leading role."

Jiang's view was echoed by Stephens. "They're not squeezing, they're just trying to create jobs," he said.

Stephens hoped Hisense SA would continue to expand. "I want them to grow, you know, to bring more job opportunities, because people can learn more from other people, you know, from Chinese people," he said.

XINHUA