BUSINESS AND TRAINING
substantial plumbing companies and plumbers
had closed, moved on in the industry, or
moved out of South Africa.
“Apprenticeships seemed to be non-existent. I
was horrified at the amount of bad debt, quality
of work, and lack of new blood in the industry.
In order to grow our economy and our trades,
we need to build new SMEs that are properly
skilled, managed, and sustainable. There was
an opportunity for job creation and closing the
gap in employment equity,” says De Fine.
In 2017, he resigned as MD at Independent
Plumbing Suppliers to concentrate full time
on skills and enterprise development. He says
it was an easy decision to make, which led to
meaningful change for the people, the country,
and the economy. “Our industry required
improvement and the trade of plumbing and
sanitation was in need of becoming a desirable
career choice. I believe we all need to do
our part to improve our communities, our
Umphakathi,” says De Fine.
It has always been De Fine’s passion to try and
help those who have the potential to succeed, but
do not have the means. When this company was
developed, this dream became a reality; however,
this has not been done alone. “Umphakathi
Development and Training has been fortunate
enough to have very supportive partners in this
process. The centre is also the official training
partner for Geberit and Friatec,” says De Fine.
The establishment opened its doors in 2015
above t