Johannesburg- Themba Mtsweni has been self-employed for 17 years in the construction sector.
He employs three people, including his younger brother Mandla, and when he is working on a big project, he provides part-time work for up 15 people.
Mtsweni is a carpenter, a skill he learnt from his father Isaac Zondi, 64, who worked with doors.
In 2001, Mtsweni from Middelburg, Mpumalanga dropped out of matric to undergo his initiation and he couldn’t return to complete his studies because of his family’s financial situation.
He then worked with his father full-time.
“My father only worked with doors, I wanted to do all aspects of carpentry, so I used my free time to learn other forms of carpentry from others,” he said.
He was soon proficient in other areas of carpentry including ceilings, roofing, flooring and furniture-making. He saved his earnings to buy tools and in 2007, he came to Gauteng to look for work.
The father of three did not find a full-time job but odd jobs, which led to the formation of Koloyana Carpentry Work.
Mtsweni, 39, who lives in Olievenhoutbosch in Tshwane with his wife, said he plans to establish a warehouse in his father’s hometown of Slaaghoek in Middelburg and hire more people.
“I want to create employment in my rural area and be able to serve customers and suppliers in township and towns. It is important that we create employment opportunities in rural areas,” he said.
“Even now, I work a lot with people in my area in Mpumalanga when I have big projects. A lot of them have are semi-skilled.”
Mtsweni, who in 2020 had registered for a course in furniture design, said Covid-19 had scuppered his plans to get a professional qualification.
He said the government introduces technical and vocational education and training (TVET) late in the education system.
“I believe aspects of technical and vocational education and training should be introduced in the foundational phases of education,” he said.
“Children should be encouraged and taught to work with their hands so that basic education also encourages those who are good with their hands to excel at it,” he said.
“What the government says and what it does, does not match. If artisan skills are in demand and in short supply, why then is the focus in schools only on passing matric? That is why there is this mentality that you need a degree to get a good job,” he said.
Mtsweni said children need more exposure to people such as carpenters.
“At home, I was exposed to carpentry, but I’m taking it further than my father did,” he said.
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