PERSONALITY PROFILE
35
Starting from the bottom
By
Dineo Phoshoko
What started out as a project to plumb his new house, turned out to be a long and fruitful
career in the plumbing industry for Mark de Swardt.
Mark de Swardt bought his first house when
he was 23 years old and discovered that the
plumbing at the house had deteriorated. “All
the pipework was about 50 years old and was
galvanised and deteriorating. I had to replace
the entire system, but at that age, with bond
repayments, I could not afford to get help,” he
says. So, De Swardt worked on the plumbing
of the entire house himself. His wife would
help him when she returned home from
work. De Swardt had attended a technical
high school, which came in handy. “Soon
afterwards, I was asked to plumb a colleague’s
house in Dimbaza, one of the larger locations
in our region. I took up the challenge, even
though it was 80km out of town,” he adds.
De Swardt knew from an early age that he
wanted to work with his hands and even did
motor mechanics at school. The idea of working
in a workshop, though, was not appealing for
De Swardt. “Plumbing offered more options;
there was a different working environment
almost daily.” Even though De Swardt had
decided on a career in the plumbing industry,
getting into the industry was no easy task.
“In the early days, I didn’t belong to any
associations or business network groups. It
was challenging to try and establish a name for
myself. In the end, the old cliché of hard work
really did pay off,” he says. Today De Swardt is
the director of Progressive Plumbers, which is
based in East London in the Eastern Cape.
Like any industry, the plumbing industry has
its challenges and having been in the industry
Mark de Swardt (first from the right, back row) with his colleagues from Progressive Plumbers.
for approximately 17 years, De Swardt knows
all too well about them. “One challenge often
faced is the random comments about call-out
rates.” Another challenge he mentions, is when
clients expect to get a quick response when
they call a plumber. “These sorts of challenges
are not insurmountable, and with careful
planning, can be overcome,” he adds.
De Swardt is optimistic that the plumbing
industry is progressing in a “healthy state”. “I
think many of us are unaware of the efforts
made by the leadership of IOPSA and PIRB.
There is a collective effort to ensure that high
standards are maintained and that the industry
remains well regulated.” He also believes that
to further improve the state of the plumbing
industry in South Africa, there needs to be
a “more uniformed and structured way for
apprentices to get into the industry and to qualify
in the industry.” De Swardt mentions that more
investment is needed in the industry, especially
in training colleges for plumbers.
His advice for young plumbers is that they
should approach a plumbing company and offer
to work for free by job shadowing the staff for
a few weeks. He also advises young plumbers
to specialise in different modern systems on
the market, as this would make them more
marketable and set them apart from the rest. “We
all start at the bottom. And the bottom normally is
a trench, which needs a pick and backache to get
through. As in life, there is a natural progression
up the proverbial ladder, and you won’t always be
in the trenches, so to say.” PA
The Personality Profile is sponsored by Geberit
www.plumbingafrica.co.za
September 2017 Volume 23 I Number 7