Aphiwe Zungu’s superwoman journey
MELVILLE - Sparrow Schools' Aphiwe Zungu is making her name in a dominantly male industry of automotive repair and maintenance.
Aphiwe Zungu’s superwoman journey
With 25 years of experience in the education and skills training field, it’s not hard to believe the great success stories that surface at Sparrow schools.
Among such stories is that of 19-year old Aphiwe Zungu who enrolled into the Automotive Repair and Maintenance Passenger Vehicles at NQF Level two programme.
The Port Elizabeth-born student owes her success to her uncle, who insisted that the she choose the Further Education and Training (FET) route to realise her dream.
Inspired by her brother, Zungu took the plunge into a career that is arguably unconventional for women.
“Seeing my brother fix anything made me fall in love with the superwoman idea,” Zungu said.
It wasn’t long until Zungu made a name for herself, impressing facilitators with her doing-things-properly attitude.
Being the only female enrolled in the programme didn’t faze her nor did it ease the journey.
Zungu revealed that there were no favours dished out to her for being female, she had to toughen up and familiarise herself the realities of her chosen field.
Her sterling reputation carried over to her current employer Germiston KIA Motors, where she is placed through Imperial Select’s four-year apprenticeship programme.
After completing her apprenticeship programme, Zungu has her prospects set on specialising and diagnostic mechanics and possibly working for Ferrari.
Her workplace mentor and supervisor Jurgen Krause believes that Zungu’s work ethic, determination and ability to dream beyond her reality will be rewarded.
Seeing Zungu climb up the ladder is a great motivation for the staff at Sparrow Schools, who work tirelessly in making a difference in the youth and country.
Details: www.sparrowschools.co.za, 011 482 1015.
