Sandton-based solar EPC+M recognised for a decade-long, promote-from-within training culture that has turned installers, learners and school leavers into engineers, project managers and executives.
Rhino Energy Solutions, a South African solar EPC+M company building the country’s renewable energy infrastructure since 2007, has been named a finalist in the Empowerment Through Skills Award at the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) Industry Awards.
The nomination puts a spotlight on a training culture that has quietly reshaped careers across the company’s 116-strong workforce. At any given time, 60 to 70 of Rhino’s employees, more than half the company, are in active training or formal study, part of a deliberate pipeline that recruits at entry level and builds people upward into leadership, engineering and management roles.
Over the past two years alone, that pipeline has delivered more than 220 health-and-safety training completions and supported over 50 internal promotions, from installation team members rising to team leaders, construction managers and O&M technicians, to project administrators progressing all the way to senior project manager and executive committee level.
Building careers, not just skills
Rogan Davies, CEO, Rhino Energy Solutions says that the company’s flagship external partnership, a learnership programme run with Standard Bank, has achieved a 100% employment rate: “All five learners who completed the 12-month programme, four of them women, were subsequently offered permanent positions at Rhino. The company’s bursary programme, run through the Rhino Foundation, has supported 28 individuals since 2024, covering tuition and living costs for employees and their family members studying engineering, business and occupational health and safety.”
“Over the past three years, the number of women across the business has grown from 3 to 18. That growth includes two women now serving on a seven-person executive committee that previously had no female representation.”
“It is a great accolade for the company to be nominated in such prestige awards as the SAPVIA Industry Awards. Recognising exceptional contributions to South Africa’s solar PV sector, I am proud of what Rhino Energy Solutions has achieved. Especially when considering the categories such as the Empowerment Through Skills award, which celebrates organisations driving workforce inclusivity, skills development, and sustainable talent pipelines,” says Davies.
Rhino’s contribution has also been recognised for its alignment with national priorities: the company is formally registered with the Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (CHIETA), and its pipeline of qualified electricians and solar PV technicians directly addresses one of the skills bottlenecks identified in South Africa’s Just Energy Transition plan.