40 TECHNICAL
Tell me why you became a plumbing contractor – Aubrey Keble
By
David Smith
This month we chatted to Aubrey Keble of Keble Plumbing to find out more about being a plumbing contractor .
David : Hi Aubrey , so tell us why you became a plumbing contractor .
Aubrey : Well , back in the 70s we were all interested in trades rather than doing office work , and at the time I thought that the plumbing industry would be the best for me . That ’ s how I got initially got involved in plumbing . It was about 1971 , so it ’ s coming up to my fiftieth year working as a plumber , and it ’ s a trade that I ’ ve enjoyed throughout all the years – and still enjoying it .
David : Tell us more about your apprenticeship .
Aubrey : You are no doubt aware that in those days it was still apartheid and there were very few non-white apprentices and somehow I managed to get in with a friend of my dad ’ s who took me on . He was a qualified plumber who worked for a company by the name of Redhill Plumbers , down in Durban . They only signed me on a year or two after I started working with them and I dedicated myself and committed to learning my trade . At the age of 16 I was running my own little project in Isipingo , working with two Zulu gentlemen by the name of Sekitele and Fem , who actually taught me the trade . That ’ s where it all started . It wasn ’ t easy though . When I moved to Johannesburg I joined a company by the name of Parkview Plumbing , and you ’ ve got to be aware of the fact that you weren ’ t allowed to touch tools in those days . If the building inspector walked in there and saw that then the company would be fined . But for all that , I still managed to get over the hurdles I was facing and kept going . Today I ’ m quite proud of where I ’ ve got to in this industry without having a good start in those days but I think for anyone who wants to get somewhere you ’ ve got to put blinkers on , concentrate on why you ’ re there , forget about what ’ s going on around you and try to achieve your goal .
David : So would you say then that what really matters in the end is one ’ s focus and determination ?
Aubrey : 100 %. In fact , at the moment I ’ ve got about nine Blulever apprentices on my site and I would like to think that I ’ ve instilled that in them as well . You won ’ t learn anything by looking around you , focus
www . plumbingafrica . co . za @ plumbingonline @ plumbingonline @ PlumbingAfricaOnline October 2022 Volume 28 I Number 8