I had  the opportunity to interview a man named Marius Smit. He is a certified plumber on the West Rand who has always been very passionate about his work he is very dedicated towards his work. Marius was born in Roodepoort and he attended Roodepoort Hoerskool on the West Rand. Plumbing has always been his passion and he has always had the urge to succeed in his field.

Marius has had his fare share of achievements in his career thus far. After the completion of his national service during 1980, he started his apprenticeship with a huge plumbing company. This company was well known as "Hoenderdos" in those days.

Apprenticeship could take anything between two to four years depending on progress and the availability of the opportunity to write a trade test. Marius's training consisted of two, three month "school block" periods and two, three month practical training periods. This happened at the old Johannesburg Technical College in Smit street. Training also partly occurred at the BIFSA (Building Industrial Federation South Africa) training facilities in Springs on the East Rand.

Various tools and equipment are used on a daily basis. Tools such as the Rigid Dicing Tool, Chisels, hammers, electrical grinders, compactors and generators.

There were various people who played a role in the formation of this mans career for example: Marius's late dad who motivated him and a plumbing project manager, Mr Bob van Reenen that identified, managed and motivated him on a daily basis.

The thing Marius enjoys most about his job is being outdoors, being creative and working with people. His highest achievement is the creation of his own successful business entity.

He has seen many change in his trade and working conditions over the years for example: tools and materials that have become more improved and more user friendly. On the negative side his experience is that the artisans are not as proud of their workmanship as they used to be. Marius insists to see the lengthy thorough artisan course being implemented. He believes that this will add to the pride in workmanship.

The advice that Marius would like to give to someone who is interested in becoming a plumber is to try and obtain the best training , study the building trade and to better your business and inter-personal skills.

I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to interview this great man. He has really taught me a lot through telling me his life story and by motivating me to become what I want to be. He is a real artisan and has shown that anything can be achieved through a little motivation and hard work. He has seen an opportunity and has taken his chance fully handed. He has been in the industry for a long time and I'm sure he isn't planning on going anywhere anytime soon.

Group:

Miguel
Cole
Tristan
Niel