Self-taught mechanic wants to break stereotypes
She learned to fix cars by shadowing her grandfather while he was fixing cars and asking questions about some parts of the cars.
A 20-year-old Soshanguve teenager is challenging stereotypes when she became a self-taught diesel engine mechanic.
Pretty Baloyi from Soshanguve ext 19 wanted to prove to men and women that there was no such thing as a “man’s job” that women cannot do.
“When I grew up I was told that things like engineering and mechanics were jobs for men only; then I said I wanted to show society that this job can be for everyone,” she said.
She said she learned to fix cars by shadowing her grandfather while he was fixing cars and asking questions about some parts of the cars.
“They said life after matric is very hard but because I have some knowledge about fixing cars, I decided to start by fixing a car at home before fixing other people’s cars,” she said.
The young mechanic has been fixing cars for two years, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing.
“There were some negative comments while some people were inspired by what I do and some even wished that I was their daughter,” she said.
She said she didn’t care about all the negative comments but she focused mainly on what she was doing.
Baloyi revealed that she will be obtaining some formal qualifications.
She advised young women to follow their passions and forget about jobs being labelled men’s jobs.
“Men can clean, wash and cook these days; so you just have to focus on what you want to do,” she said.
She added that her main goal is to show everyone that girls can do what they want to do regardless of their job titles.
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