TO FURTHER BUILD ON OUR EXTENSIVE INVESTMENT IN PEOPLE AND TALENT DEVELOPMENT.
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Komatsu Australia will commence a structured graduate development program(GDP) beginning with the first intake of graduates in April 2012.
The program is designed to ensure a steady supply of specialist and management talent into the business, now, and in the future.
The GDP is focused on building organisational capability in critical business areas and has recruited a number of recent graduates from various disciplines including: Engineering -3, IT -1, Finance/Accounting-1 and Business/Commerce-1 totalling six in the first intake.
Graduates will follow a two year development program where each graduate will spend time in various departments and locations of Komatsu. The rotational assignments will be based on four, six monthly blocks, with structured learning and experience plans being a feature of the workplace development cycle.
According to Sean Taylor, Komatsu's Managing Director, The graduate program is a major initiative for Komatsu, building organisational capability through our people is a cornerstone of the way we run the business. This program along with our leadership programs, apprentice development system and Komatsu's overall learning and development drive is significant and essential to maximise business sustainability, long term.
Graduates who successfully complete the program will be offered on-going employment with Komatsu. The program aims to give the graduates an opportunity to develop skills and experience in a range of business areas to prepare them for a career within Komatsu.
GDP complements existing and future initiatives that are designed to produce Komatsu's future leaders and build organisational capability.
Komatsu's eLearning and Business Skills Development Manager, Jason Alfeo, who is responsible for implementing the program, explained, " Our executive team and divisional managers are the sponsors of the program, we intend to provide a unique and exclusive Komatsu learning experience for the graduates that will expand the pool of future leaders available to the business. It also supplies the company with additional flexible resourcing for the divisions and special projects. We will ensure that the graduates gain broad experience and understanding of the Komatsu business and also seek alignment with the graduate's career aspirations and directions".
Graduates will also have the opportunity to establish Career plans using Komatsu's unique Career Planning and Development (CPD) system.
As with other Komatsu people development initiatives, the GDP is designed to "Develop and Engage the Whole Person", this means that the learning experiences are diverse and not just limited to the graduate's areas of study at university. Komatsu concentrates on developing further their technical skills relative to the chosen discipline, practical life skills and business skills.
Business skills development areas include: Project Management, Business Process Re-engineering, Knowledge Management, Career Planning, Public Speaking, Training, Interpersonal Communications, Management and Leadership, Negotiation, Assertiveness, Conflict Resolution, Problem Solving, Planning, Decision Making, Compliance, OH&S, Environment, Policy, Customer Service, Contracts and Emotional Intelligence.
Komatsu applied a rigorous and equity of opportunity approach to the recruitment process involving General Managers, Senior Managers and Human Resource Managers each with their own unique specialisations and experiences.
Applications were open to all recent graduates of Australian universities, with a number of the successful applicants relocating to Sydney to take up this career opportunity.
Overall, Komatsu received close to 550 applications. The recruitment process followed a three stage interview process, psychometric assessments and an emphasis on the graduate's fit to the culture and environment of the business, as well as academic achievement.
Each graduate will be assigned a mentor for the duration of the program. Being a mentor to a graduate is seen as a development opportunity for the mentor and the graduate, and will be form part of Komatsu's performance and development system process.
At the completion of each assignment each graduate will provide a 30 minute presentation to middle and senior management. Presentations will highlight their experiences during the assignment and the achievements against the learning and experience
plan requirements.
Komatsu's National Organisational Development Manager, Paul Richardson, said, "A feature of the program is the focus on developing the graduate in broad corporate business skills, specific to Komatsu. Additionally, the more general skills necessary to successfully operate in a corporate environment will also form part of their development. We are interested in building engagement between the company and the graduate, this is important across the organisation and a major factor in our ability to retain key talent".
Komatsu is very aware of the importance of the sequencing of the graduate's assignments to maximise learning and skills development. Assignments are designed to provide a variety of experiences, maximise exposure to the business and to achieve continuity of learning and skills development.
Komatsu plans on recruiting a graduate intake each year and will constantly monitor and review the GDP as part of its commitment to continuous improvement and human resource development.