Rigging no longer a man’s world

Three years ago, Ntombovuyo Madyaliti was working as a security guard at Damen Shipyards Cape Town (DSCT).

Today she is one of just four women in South Africa with an Occupational Certificate in Rigging.

Madyaliti works full-time for DSCT, where she is the only female rigger helping to build steel hull vessels for harbours around the world.

She was part of the first cohort of 27 apprentices (23 men and four women) who received their rigging qualifications this year as part of the Department of Higher Education and Training’s (DHET) Centre of Specialisation (CoS) Programme at False Bay TVET College’s Swartklip Campus.

The CoS Programme entails the establishment of a dedicated unit at a host TVET College which works closely with employers to deliver an apprenticeship programme.

Graduates of the programme gain both the necessary technical training as well as on-the-job work experience.

Breaking boundaries

When she started her apprenticeship, everyone was so surprised to see Madyaliti working.

“They were asking if I am going to be a lady rigger because they had never seen one before. Everyone said it was a man’s job but now they are used to seeing me”, she said.

Madyaliti added: “My job is so exciting because I am constantly learning new things and experiencing new opportunities”.

Today everyone who was surprised to see Madyaliti training as a rigger gets to see her play her part operating the heavy lifting machinery needed to build large maritime vessels.

“I am very proud to be the first female rigger at Damen,” she said.

Madyaliti, who lives in Philippi in Cape Town, applied for the apprenticeship programme in 2019. She started her apprenticeship at DSCT and studied at False Bay College in the same year.

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South Africa’s maritime industry is historically exclusively male, but more and more women are entering the industry because of apprenticeship programmes such as DSCT’s and the DHET’s at False Bay College.

Madyaliti has some wise words for young women looking to break boundaries in the workplace.

“Don’t let anybody tell you that what you want to do is a man’s job. When I started, I didn’t listen to all the people who told me this job is just for men. I told myself that I can’t limit myself because I am a woman, and that if a man can do it, I can also do it,” she said.

Sense of pride

Abdula Galant, technical training officer at DSCT said rigging was a male-dominated industry, but things were changing.

“We know that we need to transform and give women equal opportunities. Of the 29 apprentices we have this year, 10 are women. This is something we are immensely proud of,” he said.

Sefale Montsi, director at DSCT said Madyaliti’s growth is an example of what can be done if companies in the maritime sector commit to real change.

“In South Africa, the maritime industry has the potential to uplift many people who were previously disadvantaged. Our ocean economy has the potential to unlock great social economic growth and to create thousands of jobs,” Montsi said.

Montsi said they were proud of Madyaliti and what she has achieved, saying she has gone from working as a security guard to being an integral part of how the business builds world-class vessels and has broken boundaries while doing so.

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