Workplace exposure gives aspiring plumbers a taste of what’s to come
— and it comes with many benefits
It takes three years and an intensive two-day trade test to become a qualified Red Seal plumber in South Africa. Seventy per cent of those apprenticeship years constitute practical on-the-job training, a substantial commitment for anyone to make.
BluLever, an education partner to Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator — part of the Skills for Prosperity (S4P) South Africa programme — aims to skill 200 marginalised young South Africans for income-earning opportunities. BluLever has a unique approach to apprenticeship training that ensures its graduates are set up for success from the very beginning of their career journey. Workplace exposure is a vital activity that assesses young aspiring plumbers before they embark on lengthy and intensive training, checking if it is the right fit for them.
“Workplace exposure is important mainly to give the students the experience of knowing what being a plumber means today and sets realistic expectations for the journey ahead,” says Jess Roussos, co-founder and co-CEO of BluLever Education. “It gives them exposure to real-life situations, and the impact they can have as professionals with both the soft skills and the hand skills to solve those problems.”
On-the-job learning while serving local communities
Students spend eight hours on-site for four days, with daily deliverables set by the site supervisor — a qualified plumber or another tradesperson — who oversees and assesses each student’s quality of work. Worksites are in communities where plumbing infrastructure repair and maintenance are much-needed. For example, in Diepsloot, a densely-populated township in Johannesburg, students do their workplace exposure with a local community-based organisation, WASSUP — which stands for Water Amenities Sanitation Services Upgrading Programme. The NGO team of community plumbers that improves public ablution facilities for Diepsloot residents free of charge is only too happy to accept the assistance of the young students. “In many cases, one toilet serves 50 residents,” says Obed Kekae, a qualified plumber, and co-founder and Director of WASSUP. During one instance of workplace exposure, 39 students helped WASSUP repair 67 toilets. “The response from the community was insane,” says Kekae. “They were happy to have working toilets but more overjoyed that young people were getting an opportunity to work.”
The impact of workplace exposure
BluLever’s Jess Roussos says students enter workplace exposure with mixed emotions. “In any group of students, you will find some who are super excited that they get to help out on a community project and give back to people who do not have good sanitation. But at the same time, the nervous students do not know if they will enjoy unblocking drains,” she adds. “Overall, it gives our students a lot of insight and helps them find their passion and prepare to become an apprentice.”
Kekae says that determination is so important in the plumbing field. Even at this very early stage of their potential career, it is all about the willingness to learn how to do the work, not the level of experience. “Within a day or two, you can see the potential of those who are going to be proud plumbers — this experience is so valuable for the young person, and BluLever, to be able to identify if this is the right career path.”
When asked what they liked most about the workplace exposure experience, one of the students commented, “My favourite part was being exposed to the real world of plumbing. There were things I thought I knew, but it turned out that I did not know, like the installation of toilets — there are certain measurements you have to use.”
The experience proved to be full of learning for the aspiring plumbers, as they have discovered that “it will not always be easy when doing plumbing work, as you may come across dirty toilets and smelling pipes. You will deal with many challenges, like when you are working in a bathroom fixing toilets and might need to break down the wall or the wall tiles and replace them.” Another student commented on the workplace opportunity, saying that “The Diepsloot experience was my highlight, the experience I received developed my love for plumbing and more interest in the field. Giving back to the community was the highest highlight too.”
Workplace exposure is a great way to establish the compatibility for a plumbing career, as experienced supervisors could recognise students’ potential by focusing on their willingness to learn and manual dexterity. Commenting on the potential of one of his students a supervisor said, “She is going to be a great plumber because she loves to work with her hands and uses the tools correctly, which is difficult. I am impressed. She has a future in plumbing.”
In a professional field normally seen as male-dominated, the S4P programme in South Africa prioritises female skills development for employment in trade work. This means that at least half of each workplace exposure group at WASSUP consists of women. But for Obed Kekae, the gender of a plumber is immaterial: “On site, I do not see women, I see plumbers.”
