Engineering group Aurecon has scooped two awards at the SA Professional Services Awards sponsored by Sanlam and W. Consulting. The company was crowned the Engineering Firm of the Year while one of their employees, Tony Igboamalu, was awarded the Young Engineering Professional of the Year award.
Professionals from various organisations were set to gather at a gala dinner in Montecasino Ball Room on the evening of 19 March 2020 to honour the best amongst them. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the SAPSA Awards were indefinitely postponed. The organisers of the event have subsequently undertaken to progressively announce the winners for the 2019/2020 edition prior to hosting a gathering for all finalists and guests. This marks the fifth edition of the Awards following a rigorous process of determining winners through strict criteria.
Janette Minnaar, the chair of the adjudication panel explained how the winners were determined.
“Individuals were judged based on a host of attributes including demonstration of leadership skills, changing of paradigms and innovation within the bounds of available resources. We also conferred a number of Lifetime Achievement Awards to deserving recipients who had served their professions faithfully for many years,” said Minnaar.
The firm awards were based on the following criteria – business growth, customer service, technical excellence, contribution to the community, contribution to the profession, transformation record and commitment to ethics and professionalism. The criteria were not equally weighted, a strong showing in one category was sufficient to put the firm above the rest.
The judges considered that Aurecon has positioned itself as a leading engineering firm in both the local and global context. That they have achieved a level 2 B-BBEE rating shows that they take transformation seriously. They were further been impressed that the company’s participation in CSI is in excess of the Construction Sector requirements. Furthermore, the company has demonstrated technical excellence by winning Awards recently within the engineering industry at both an individual and corporate level.
“As for the Young Engineer award, Tony’s interview reveals why he was highly commended for the Young Engineer of the Year at the CESA Awards,” the judges remarked. “It is impressive that at such a young age he has completed his doctorate, demonstrating a commitment to enhancing his knowledge in his field of engineering. In addition, his research and his work indicates that he is walking the talk in seeking to improve the lives of Africans through enabling the access of arguably the most critical resource – clean water. Finally, it is heart-warming that he participates in mentorship of university students and STEM skills transfer to younger scholars in the township.”
Watch Tony Igboamalu’s acceptance speech below:
