Women in HVACR
STUDENTS RECEIVE RESPONSES FROM A MENTOR
By Samkelwa Xaba
Oftentimes students find themselves in a position where they do not have the knowledge or information to accelerate their careers earlier on in the refrigeration and air-conditioning industry .
Creative Commons
42
In my last article I introduced Ester Gladys Gwemba through a brief background , and who has offered to give some students advice on the matter of their careers . In this article she responds to the two questions posed to her through the previous article published in the RACA Journal .
NOXOLO DUBE ’ S QUESTION TO THE MENTOR WAS : Job marketing is the hardest . How does one go about preparing and proving that you are worthy , or the best candidate for that position you are after , especially knowing that I will be competing amongst many men for the same opportunity ?
ADVICE FROM THE MENTOR : Being a female in this highly competitive industry , job marketing can be quite a challenging task where the reality is that women do not only face the wage gap scenario , but they also have to compete with men .
No job should be considered a position in which only a man can excel , and companies firstly need to recognise this more . With that being said , the advice I can offer on this question posed by the student would be that :
Companies need to recognise more that defined roles in a business should not only be seen as employment that men can excel at .
RACA Journal I July 2021
• As a female , your approach to any interview should be different , strategic and being well-prepared is essential to demonstrate your understanding of the job role .
• Being confident in yourself is as important . Try to connect with the person or people involved during your interview – after all , your experience will market itself for you .
• Don ' t be shy to show your qualifications , skills , and talents . You have worked as hard as anyone else to achieve what you have , so be proud of this .
• Speak genuinely about what you admire about this industry .
• Most importantly , do your research – research on the company , what the company does , the types of clients they have , and so on .
SHELA MASHIANGAKO ’ S QUESTION TO THE MENTOR WAS : This is really an industry career worth pursuing . What advice do you have as to how to escalate a career going forward , so I can reach a level of being a great service engineer ?
ADVICE FROM THE MENTOR : As a woman , building a career in any field – be it engineering or refrigeration – could appear to be challenging and intimidating in a male-dominated industry . Fortunately , there is an increase in funding and resources from both government and private companies that are encouraging more young women to build a career in this particular industry . So , the best advice I could give you in this regard would be :
• Make sure that you network with other females who have been in this industry . This is a means of support and ideas .
• Belong to a community so you can broaden your overall skills and thinking .
• You have to always be willing to learn – this includes new ways of doing things , and any additional studies or courses you can participate in . RACA www . hvacronline . co . za