12 PERSONALITY PROFILE
Ronelle Pagel
By
Rory Macnamara
Plumbing Africa chatted to Ronelle Pagel , a lady plumber from Pretoria whose biggest challenge in Pretoria is … ( the answer in this article will surprise you !)
Schooled in the beautiful town of Indwe in the Eastern Cape and educated at Indwe High School , Ronelle arrived in Pretoria in 1987 and after doing her plumbing course in 2006 she tried about 15 plumbing companies to take her on as an apprentice , and without any success , she went another route .
She worked with a plumbing assistant where she learnt the basics of plumbing , six weeks of Red Seal training and obtained her trade test certificate in 2017 .
Her interest stemmed from her curiosity and eagerness to ‘ fix a problem .’ “ I enjoy working with my hands and to solve practical problems . So , when two plumbers failed to resolve my leaking kitchen taps in 2007 , scratching the sink in the process and without any effort to communicate , demanding immediate payment , I decided this type of service can be provided in a different manner to customers .”
So , some sloppy plumbers created a desire to encourage Ronelle to enter the great trade of plumbing . Her company is known as The Plumbing Lady with a payoff line of “ not just any plumber .”
Ronelle is also a member of IOPSA , registered with PIRB and an ardent supporter of the SA Women in Plumbing initiative .
Ronell focuses on maintenance plumbing and the greatest pleasure in her work is the satisfaction of solving problems and seeing a satisfied customer . In this way Ronelle fulfils a passion of hers to help people through plumbing .
Have you guessed what her biggest challenge is ? Wrong if you thought “ sloppy plumbers ”, but correct if you guessed it as the Diplomatic Traffic that worms its way in and around Pretoria , getting in everyone ’ s way !
Ronelle is married to Chris , has three children , loves reading , wild animals and playing golf and she loves doing the work she does best – plumbing .
We asked Ronelle what message she has for other women thinking about entering plumbing , “ You can do it . It may not be the norm , but it is certainly possible . # WomeninPlumbing is the future of home maintenance .” PA
The Plumbing Lady
Ronelle Pagel , The Plumbing Lady .
“# WomeninPlumbing is the future of home maintenance .”
www . plumbingafrica . co . za @ plumbingonline @ plumbingonline @ PlumbingAfricaOnline August 2021 Volume 27 I Number 6