Trailblazing through a male dominated world

Vuyukazi Mbasa is a Junior Quantity Surveyer with the Billion Construction. Her responsibilities include checking progress on sub-contractors’ work so that progress payments can be made. The work involves going onto site, measuring progress, doing calculations and authorising work.

The diminutive Mbasa studied at the Eastern Cape Technikon and graduated in Construction Management and Quantity Surveying. She says her mother has been her inspiration and driving force. “After ending school I really didn’t know what I wanted to do until I saw the advertisement for the course and I knew instantly what it was that I wanted to do. My father was involved in construction so I guess that’s what made me interested” says Mbasa

“My timing must have been good because here I am working on the largest construction project in the Eastern Cape and learning so much every day. The team are fantastic but it nevertheless has been a huge challenge especially being a woman. I find that people in this industry don’t take you seriously as a woman. There are a lot of people who still believe in stereotypes and say that a woman’s place is in the kitchen. They just need to give us a chance. I’m just pushing my way up. I can’t give up” she declares. “My rolemodel is certainly the Billion group Chairman, Sisa Ngebulane. He has achieved so much and I would love to be an entrepreneur like him one day.”

In the medium term Mbasa has planned to return to study next year so that she can earn her BTech degree. “I need that to progress to a QS and the experience I have gained on this project will stand me in good stead”.

Her positive energy and drive will certainly stand her in good stead as she carves a career for herself in what has traditionally been a man’s world.

Safety is a calling not a job

Erica Bezuidenhout is bubbly and vivacious and she is passionate about safety. I interviewed her and some of her team members in their container office at the top of Hemingways Mall construction site where this predominately female team have a site office. The contrast between the dusty and bustling building site and the well groomed ladies was very obvious.

Bezuidenhout owns a six year old company called SHE Facilitators. The acronym SHE stands for Safety Health and Environment but it also takes a facetious look at the composition of her company which dominates the market for safety officers in the construction industry in the region.

Working in an environment that is predominantly male, can be a challenge says Bezuidenhout. “I love a challenge and dealing with people’s negative perceptions is something I do with a great amount of satisfaction. After all I have needed to admit that I have negative perceptions sometimes.”

Bezuidenhout relates an incident when she met with a new team of managers on the Billion Construction site and she was surprised that one of the team appeared very young. “ Due to his apparent age I was very concerned if he was able to do the job and from a safety perspective that worried me. I asked him directly if he was competent. After an embarrassing moment, one of the team informed me that he was probably the most competent as he was the only qualified engineer in that particular group.

“The greatest thing about being a woman is that we don’t have big ego issues. We can say we are sorry when we make mistakes and we are not afraid to admit that we don’t know something. But we acknowledge that we have the resources to find out information and we do.”

Bezuidenhout’s clients include property developers and construction companies. In terms of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH) of 1993 it remains the developer’s responsibility to ensure safety on site which has placed a liability on them to ensure safety on site. This has opened opportunities for companies like hers. She currently has 28 projects and is very proud to be part of the biggest construction site in the Eastern Cape and one of the biggest in the country ever. “I have never advertised my business. People know us by our excellent reputation. We just keep growing in pace with the market demand.”

As far as the results for SHE Facilitators go, Bezuidenhout says that they are proud of their 0,44 % incident rate when the industry average is about 1,5 to 3%.

Breaking through the so called glass ceiling is not something Bezuidenhout dwells on. She is very keen to acknowledge the role of her team members in their success and is very quick to point out that they are all passionate about what they do. “One advantage of being a woman and having a predominantly female team is that we have empathy and really believe that a safe work environment is non negotiable” says Bezuidenhout.

Bezuidenhout claims she landed in the construction industry by accident. “I was the safety manager for a large hospital group and took a break to be with my young children. My husband is a quantity surveyor and he introduced me to someone in the construction industry who needed a safety officer on a specific project. “So something that was actually a hobby but which I was passionate about developed into a great business. I have learnt so much but have had to deal with some of the issues associated with being a woman in business. For instance in the early days I was introduced as Frikkies wife. Now I am the owner of a safety facilitation company in charge of one of the largest construction projects in South Africa” says Bezuidenhout with pride.
Angel Nwachukwa is one of Bezuidenhout’s safetuy officers. She started her career in the construction industry as a laborer but has been an amazing student and a real asset to SHE Facilitators according to Bezuidenhout.

Making up the third female team member is Elizabeth van der Merwe affectionately known as “Baby” who has been a safety officer for 15 years. Her experience and knowledge is paramount in the industry. “My ex husband was in the industry and I landed here almost by accident” says van der Merwe.

Bezuidenhout says that the job comes with an enormous amount of responsibility and accountability. This is not a job for anybody. It is a passion that you must have. The devil is in the detail. Everything needs to be recorded and documented.