SA Affordable Housing January - February 2020 // ISSUE: 80 | Page 28

PROFILE
From Master Builders
Association to IOPSA
By Eamonn Ryan | Photos by Eamonn Ryan
Kwakho Mpepho has evolved from a high school teacher to a training
manager specialising in the construction sector. A stint with the Master
Builders’ Association North (MBA North) led to his current position with
the Institute of Plumbing South Africa (IOPSA), as he ‘fell in love’ with
this most hands-on of industries.
M
pepho started his career as a teacher, having
come from a highly academically inclined
family. “It was a tradition in my family that
before you do anything else you complete a teaching
qualification. My mother was a teacher, while my
father, although he was a salesman for a tobacco
company, his father was a teacher and most of his
siblings were all teachers, lecturers and professors.”
Following his teacher qualification and then a further
BA degree, he taught for a year and finally entered the
world of training consulting.
“This introduced me to the education and training
environment as we know it in South Africa. At a
consulting firm I started as a facilitator, where I learned
the hosting of training events and assessing work-
related training and accreditation by Setas (sector
education and training authorities) in different
industries. With this consulting experience I then moved
to the ‘other side’, working for a financial services
company Avbob, to deliver training to their employees.
This was at a critical time when all financial services
companies were having to upgrade and upskill
themselves in terms of the FAIS (Financial Advisory and
Intermediary Services) Act to ensure they were ‘fit and
proper’ for the function,” says Mpepho.
This involved him in sourcing training providers,
checking on their accreditation and working with teams
of functional trainers and assessors. He then broadened
his experience further at delivery company DHL, where
he was involved in the delivery of the employee
induction programme from Germany and identifying
South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) aligned
training material for staff where necessary. “I personally
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JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2020
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Kwakho Mpepho, IOPSA Training Manager.
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