EOH Work Readiness Initiative - Narrative Reports 2014 - 2015 Aug. 2014 | Page 29

INTERIM NARRATIVE REPORT FROM EOH The importance of having a mentor in the workplace Did you have a mentor at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT)? 24 “No you just have a boss. At TUT I learnt everything myself. My mentor here told me everything here. It helps because [here] its a different IT, not the one in the books, its the real IT. It helps to have a mentor. AUGUST 2014 MOEKETSI SUPING Moeketsi got his first PC when he was in grade 8, by assembling it from parts he was given. He wanted to study IT after school but did not have the money to do so, as he and his older sister had to support themselves. So he became a panelbeater instead. Fortunately the EOH learnership has given him the opportunity to now realise his dream and technological talents. How is IT different in the books from the “real” IT? Full name Moeketsi Suping In the books you just read about IT, the PC, the motherboard, but here you know how to assemble a PC. So its different. I didn’t know how to connect a mouse, keyboard, power. I didn’t know that. So they just taught me that. South African Identity Number 9205205549088 Learning group System Support G1 Gender Male Age 22 Occupation IT Support Technician Race African Born Ladybrand Siblings 1 “I would like to have a diploma in IT. Maybe next year I can go register at TUT, maybe. Because I have applied. I will start working in an organisation first and get more experience [before starting my own company].” Parents Mother passed away when he was 18 Children None Her community does not understand IT as a field of study nor as a career Highest grade at secondary school 12 “Every month I go home. I want to encourage the youngsters to do IT. I love to go to schools and encourage them for there is more to life than sitting at home in the village. They must explore, go visit other cities.” Post schooling qualifications None Currently studying Learnership in IT Technical Support Employer National Department of Public Works Mavis, like many others we interviewed, wants to study IT further What are your plans for the future? Supported by his older sister Do you think IT is a good career option? “Yes. For me. I don’t know about other people. For me. Because others they want to be doctors they want to be teachers. Even at home they don’t understand why I am doing IT. They want me to be a teacher. They don’t understand. ‘What are you doing there? Why don’t you go to school and apply for a teaching course and teach?’ But that’s not what I want. Background What is it about IT that attracts you? “I completed my grade 12 in the year 2010, and then I worked at Ladybrand Panel Beaters for a year… its only me and my sister at home. We group up together. My mother passed away in 2005. My father is staying in Bloemfontein. I stayed with my sister and got support from my aunties. My sister is working at the moment doing [community development].” “I did computer at school. That’s when I wanted to know much about computers.” He built his first computer from scratch in grade 8 “I went straight to work after grade 12. I always wanted to study for IT, [that’s how I found out about the EOH learnership opportunity].” Why were you interested in IT? “Because IT is everywhere, you go outside its IT. Everything is about IT. I enjoy it very much. [I got my first computer] in 2006. I built it from scratch by myself. Then I was still at school. I was in grade 8. I had a lot of friends; they organised parts for me to build the PC. I was struggling at first but I asked people who knew more about computers and they helped me.” What did you do on the computer? 24 This was the learner’s previous place of study, and included a short internship component without mentorship. “I watched movies, learned how to type, worked on the Microsoft [Office] Suite. Interviews 29