Tongaat Hulett Sugar South Africa is inviting suitably qualified and experienced candidates to apply for several technical vacancies currently available within the company. These permanent opportunities are ideal for skilled artisans who have experience in electrical or instrumentation maintenance and are looking to build a rewarding career in the sugar manufacturing industry.
The available positions include Electrician, Instrument Mechanician (X2), and Shift Electrician. Successful applicants will join one of South Africa’s leading sugar producers and contribute to maintaining high operational standards while ensuring plant reliability, safety, and efficiency.
Applicants who meet the minimum requirements are encouraged to submit their applications before the closing date.
Available Positions
- Electrician
- Instrument Mechanician (X2)
- Shift Electrician
Electrician Position
Job Grade C2
Reports to: Electrical Foreman
Key responsibilities:
- Fault-finding of all electrical equipment
- Work order management and root cause analysis
- Learning and complying with plant safety standards and housekeeping
- Sharing information and learning from team members
- Record keeping, updating, and creating electrical drawings
- Recommending improvements to prevent breakdowns
Qualifications and experience required:
- Matric plus N3 (Electrical) qualification; qualified electrical artisan with Trade Test
- Registered, or able to register, as an installation electrician with the Department of Labour, with a valid Wireman’s Licence within six months of appointment
- Three years’ experience within a sugar refining environment is an advantage
- Knowledge of the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act
- Knowledge of SABS standards on electrical equipment maintenance, testing, and inspection
- Knowledge of SABS standards for electrical installations in classified areas, maintenance schedules, variable speed drives, and soft start devices
Personal qualities sought:
- Able to work in a team with good communication skills
- Able to work with minimal supervision
- Strong problem-solving skills and a positive attitude toward safety
- Flexible enough to meet the challenges of a demanding environment
Instrument Mechanician Position
Two Positions Available
Reports to: Instrument Control Specialist
Key responsibilities:
- Maintaining existing equipment, both pneumatic and electronic
- Maintaining the Distributed Control System (DCS)
- Fault finding on all equipment and installations
- Commissioning of new equipment
- Undertaking standby duties for the entire plant
- Participating in plant shutdowns and project commissioning
- Adhering to company policies, safety standards, and statutory requirements
Qualifications and experience required:
- Matric with a recognised trade test in instrumentation and process control
- Two years’ industry experience with exposure to pneumatic and electronic instrumentation
- Knowledge of programmable logic controllers and distributed control systems (DCS)
- Exposure to high pressure boiler control is an advantage
Personal qualities sought:
- Hard working and able to work well within a team
- Good communication skills
- Strong work ethic and principles, with attention to detail
- Flexible enough to meet the challenges of a demanding environment
- Positive attitude toward safety
Shift Electrician Position
Job Grade C2
Reports to: Electrical Foreman
Key responsibilities:
- Providing electrical maintenance and operational support to the packaging plant and silo operations
- Fault-finding of all electrical equipment
- Work order management and root cause analysis
- Learning and complying with plant safety standards and housekeeping
- Sharing information and learning from team members
- Record keeping, updating, and creating electrical drawings
- Recommending improvements to prevent breakdowns
Qualifications and experience required:
- Matric plus N3 (Electrical) qualification; qualified electrical artisan with Trade Test
- Registered, or able to register, as an installation electrician with the Department of Labour, with a valid Wireman’s Licence within six months of appointment
- Three years’ experience within a sugar refining environment is an advantage
- Knowledge of the OHS Act
- Knowledge of SABS standards on electrical equipment maintenance, testing, and inspection
- Knowledge of SABS standards for electrical installations in classified areas, maintenance schedules, variable speed drives, and soft start devices
Personal qualities sought:
- Able to work in a team with good communication skills
- Able to work with minimal supervision
- Strong problem-solving skills and a positive attitude toward safety
- Flexible enough to meet the challenges of a demanding environment
How to Apply
All three positions can be applied for through the official Tongaat Hulett vacancies portal at https://www.tongaat.com/south-africa-vacancies/. Applicants are advised to read the requirements carefully before submitting, as incomplete applications will not be considered.
Mandatory documents:
- Original certified copy of the Matric certificate
- Fully completed application form for employment
Applications missing either of these will be excluded from consideration regardless of the candidate’s other qualifications.
Given the volume of applications typically received for positions at this level, correspondence will be limited to shortlisted candidates only. Anyone who has not been contacted within three weeks of the closing date should consider their application unsuccessful. This is a standard practice across many large-scale industrial employers in South Africa and is worth keeping in mind when planning follow-up communication.
It is also worth noting that these appointments will be made in line with the company’s Employment Equity objectives, which include specific provisions for persons with disabilities. This reflects a broader commitment to workplace transformation that is common across major South African employers operating under the Employment Equity Act.
Why These Roles Matter
Positions like these form the backbone of continuous operations at a large-scale sugar refinery. Electrical and instrumentation faults, if not caught and resolved quickly, can lead to costly downtime and safety risks. The technical depth required, spanning DCS systems, programmable logic controllers, pneumatic instrumentation, and high-voltage electrical work, reflects how specialised modern sugar refining has become.
For qualified artisans and technicians in KwaZulu-Natal and the broader region, these vacancies represent an opportunity to join an established industrial operation with a long operating history in the South African sugar sector.
Quick summary for applicants:
- Three positions open: Electrician, Instrument Mechanician (x2), Shift Electrician
- Job Grade: C2 across all listed roles
- Closing date: Friday, 07 August 2026
- Apply via: https://www.tongaat.com/south-africa-vacancies/
- Certified Matric certificate and completed application form are mandatory
- Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, within three weeks of closing date