OUR PEOPLE
B
ernett is Vice-President of Toyota Component Manufacturing in KwaZulu-Natal under Toyota SA Manufacturing,
but his journey to success began long before he joined the company. Born in Johannesburg and raised in Engwenyeni village in Mpumalanga, he was the fourth of nine siblings and had to overcome challenging circumstances to obtain an education. During his first two years of
preparatory schooling, he sat with a group of children under a tree for lessons, since the school lacked desks and chairs. “Our teacher used to put her blackboard on top of a paint can because, as the sun rose, we needed to turn to the other side of the tree to catch the shade,” he recalls. “We didn’t have paper or pencils, so we wrote on the sand in front of us. The only time we saw papers and pencils was when we wrote tests.” In addition, Bernett had to wake
up early every morning to open the family’s kraals and send the cattle to the forest, before he could leave for school. After returning in the afternoon, he had to tend the goats and collect water from the river so that his grandmother and mother could cook dinner. He eventually enrolled at a high
school in Steenbok, Mpumalanga – which was a 7km walk away from his home. “The real challenge was during winter, because pupils would walk in the cold darkness and the teachers would wait at the gate to give latecomers a hiding,” he says. “Many of my classmates dropped out, but I didn’t, even though I was caned.
“I’M ALWAYS GOING TO BE A PROUD TOYOTA EMPLOYEE BECAUSE I
BELIEVE IN THE BRAND, THE COMPANY AND ITS VALUES.”
Everybody in the village had gone through the same thing, so it didn’t seem particularly tough. It was normal for us,” he says. After matriculating, Bernett
attended the former Technikon of Transvaal (now the Tshwane University of Technology), where he obtained a National Diploma in Electrical Engineering. While working at his first job in
Pretoria, he spotted a newspaper advertisement for Toyota’s graduate trainee programme. He applied and after being interviewed by a panel of Durban-based plant managers, he was recruited. His first assignment was as an Assembly Line Operator producing the Hilux and also working the Tazz and Condo lines. He was then promoted to Team Leader, tasked with managing seven people, before being made a Supervisor and given a full production line of Hilux to run, which involved managing seven team leaders and 38 team members.
In due course, Bernett became a Principal Engineer in the Assembly Division before being promoted to Production Engineering Manager. He was then promoted to Production Department Manager, overseeing one shift of production. Later, he was again promoted to
Senior Production Manager, overseeing Hilux and Corolla at the assembly plant, before being rotated to become a Senior Manager for the chassis plant. He was then promoted to General Manager of the same plant and, finally, to his current position. “I’m always going to be a proud
Toyota employee because I believe in the brand, the company and its values,” he says. “I also believe that through Toyota’s development framework, I’ll be given the opportunity to take on another assignment within the organisation.” What advice can he offer the next
generation, who are equally bent on overcoming difficult circumstances to achieve career success? “Many people don’t take on a challenge because they’re afraid of failure, but you’re only a failure if you don’t try at all. Once you actually try and fail, you’re a much better person because you learn from that experience and it allows you to grow,” he says. Married and the father of two
sons and two daughters, Bernett’s a devout Christian and active member of his congregation, serving as Church Secretary. He’s also currently reading for an MBA.
BERNETT MLAMBO’S BEEN A TOYOTA EMPLOYEE ALMOST HIS ENTIRE CAREER AND HAS RISEN FROM GRADUATE TRAINEE TO THE TOP RANKS OF THE ORGANISATION, BUT IT WAS A LONG AND WINDING PATH
MISSION POSSIBLE 21
WORDS: KIBO NGOWI. PHOTOGRAPHER: ANDREW GRIFFIN
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