WOMEN IN PLUMBING
41
Determined dream chaser
By Dineo Phoshoko
Living in a predominantly patriarchal society can be very challenging,
especially for a woman who wants to pursue a career in the plumbing industry.
Noma-India Mtwazi is a woman on a mission, determined to
achieve her goals of getting a qualification in the industry and
one day owning her own plumbing business.
Mtwazi’s passion for the industry motivated her to pursue a
professional qualification in plumbing. “When I was a teenager,
my uncle used to do plumbing,” explained Mtwazi. Her passion for
plumbing was further fuelled by the fact that very few women are
in the industry. “I made a decision to pursue this path and grow
myself in it,” she added. Mtwazi is working on obtaining her NQF
Level 4 qualification in plumbing through the Plumbing Academy,
which is located in Dlamini, Soweto. She is due to complete her
studies in February next year.
Education and training for plumbers have been in the spotlight
and Mtwazi feels that obtaining a formal qualification in plumbing
is important. For her, being educated in plumbing is essential,
because it adds to one’s confidence and keeps one up to date with
the latest regulations required in the plumbing industry.
Mtwazi acknowledged that the industry is still male dominated. She
was also forthcoming about her fellow male students occasionally
falling short in terms of being supportive to female students.
Mtwazi used the situation as motivation to keep her focused on
becoming successful in a career she is passionate about. “The
attitude from them [male students] kept me humble.” The 38-year-
old from Soweto has embraced the challenges she has faced and
finds joy and fulfilment in pursuing her qualification. “I have enjoyed
learning a lot about the Mepla pipes from Geberit — they are so
simple to connect,” she said.
Looking towards the future, Mtwazi has big dreams and several
goals that she would like to achieve. Her main goal is to one day
be recognised in the industry as the owner of her own plumbing
business. She added that her business would be based on the
values of quality of service, professionalism, and honesty. In
so doing, Mtwazi would also like to create employment and
opportunities for young people (especially young girls) looking to
get into the industry.
Although more women are working as plumbers, there is still a lot
that needs to change to improve the industry as a whole. Mtwazi
believes that to improve the plumbing industry, the government
needs to partake by building more plumbing training centres,
especially in black communities. Her advice to other women is that
they should not be discouraged to get into the plumbing industry.
“I would advise them not to undermine themselves in this career;
do a lot of research and bring the numbers up of women, as
there are a lot of opportunities,” Mtwazi said. She also expressed
her gratitude to Sam Dubazana, her mentor from the Plumbing
Academy, for constantly encouraging her. PA
Noma-India
Mtwazi refuses to
let any challenges
stop her from
obtaining her
NQF Level 4
qualification in
plumbing.