Wetskills South Africa blog 18 September 2022
By Babalwa and Hannes
But before we dive into our cases, ofcourse we’d like to get to know each other. This means: teambuilding activities!
We started the day with a safety briefing and a short introduction of ourselves at the accommodation of the Department of Water and Sanitation. After that we went on our first official ‘outing’ to Cullinan Mine, which ironically took place a few days after the Queen’s passing.
After we all put on a colourful safety vest and helmet, our energetic and well-informed guide Mam’ Grace gave us a history lesson on how the world’s biggest
diamond, that currently sits on the British crown jewels, was discovered (took some of us back to our Economic Geology classes). What a shock to discover that the diamond we have been requesting to be returned to the South African people was actually given to King Andrew the VI by the Transvaal Government.
Then it was time to enter the mine. After we all passed the breath analyser (which was required to enter), Mam’ Grace showed us around, explained more about the production targets and production process, and told more interesting stories about the history of the mine. During the tour we had plenty of time to interact with our 
potential soon-to-be teammates while enjoying the impressive scenery.
With a lot of new knowledge and impressions we left the mine. The trip ended with us being labelled as ‘Zama Zamas’ (illegal miners) by patrons dining near the mine (a day wouldn’t be complete without a dose of dark humor from our South African counterparts).
We wrapped up the day with a presentation detailing the Wetskills mandate, another introduction round using photos, and assigning participants to their groups based on their preferred case studies. After a workshop on Belbin team roles and a brief team discussion about the case, the countdown to begin the real work had officially started!
