Women are occupying almost every type of role in today’s business world, including niche roles that are sometimes overlooked. While fairly uncommon, they can be rewarding positions for women to consider. Sizakele Mofokeng can attest to this. She works as a civil engineering technologist for engineering firm, GIBB, and believes it’s a fulfilling career to consider.
Mofokeng, who hails from Soweto, Johannesburg, had always wanted a career involving maths and science, so she obtained a diploma in civil engineering and then a BTech majoring in Transportation at the University of Technology. The difference between an engineer and a civil engineering technologist is the title of the degree. An engineer holds a BEng or BSc and a civil engineering technologist holds a BTech.
Mofokeng was then employed by GIBB in 2008 and worked her way up the ranks to become a civil engineering technologist. The roads we drive on, pavements we walk on, and the conveyors used in mines all originated as a design by technologists like Mofokeng.
When she’s not working on drawings in the office, Mofokeng is on site where she observes her design work come to life. As an example, she recently spent eight months in Durban, acting as resident engineer on a walkways project. She finds it a fulfilling change of environment and enjoys working with the teams on site.
Civil engineering is a broad field that spans transportation, the structure of buildings and bridges, geotechnical, surveys, and water and sewerage, to name just a few specialisations. Besides the work she does as a civil engineering technologist, Mofokeng believes that civil engineering in general is a good career choice for women.
While the industry has been historically male-dominated, more women are entering the field, but she believes there’s room for improvement in this regard. It has been difficult for some women to make their mark, but Mofokeng advises women to believe in themselves and have the self-confidence to push through. “It’s also important to have a mentor, keep abreast of new developments in the industry, and build a strong network.”
Mofokeng’s work provides stimulating and challenging opportunities. She describes GIBB’s current large-scale mining project as one of these. Mofokeng is involved in the design process for the formation of conveyors for a mining project, and is managing the Roads team. “This is a challenging project as it involves multi-disciplinary teams; therefore, the management of time, work and people is essential, and I have the added responsibility of being accountable if deliverables aren’t met.”
One of her favourite projects to date was the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) project in the Johannesburg CBD. BRT is a high-capacity bus-based transit system that includes dedicated lanes, busways, traffic signal priority, off-board fare collection, elevated platforms and enhanced stations. Mofokeng says, “I was involved in the design and construction supervision of the BRT routes, and it was important to me to see how much it benefited the community – myself included.”
She also works on GIBB’s other private as well as municipal clients such as SANRAL. A typical project would be initiated when a brand-new road is needed, for example. It is the civil engineering technologist who starts the project by creating the necessary drawings. Projects also require preliminary work to be carried out, including surveys and geotechnical, which is the assessment of the soil in preparation for the new road.
When asked what makes her feel fulfilled, Mofokeng says it’s rewarding to see her designs reach construction stage. “I also enjoy multidisciplinary projects. It’s exciting to witness different disciplines collaborating, realising the interdependence of the teams involved, and seeing the impact of our individual work overall. That’s very fulfilling. It’s also good to meet different people, especially those on site, because you learn a lot from them.”
The civil engineering industry faced challenges with COVID-19 and lockdown, just as every industry has. Working from home was challenging, especially when consulting colleagues about drawings. However, the company adapted and now has a hybrid working model where technologists can work from the office when it’s necessary to collaborate more interactively with colleagues.
Lockdown also affected employment. Instead of having two people with a different set of skills, it became more economical for an organisation to have one multi-skilled person. “This has made me focus on where I am lacking and become committed to filling in the gaps in my skills to be a more well-rounded engineer,” says Mofokeng.
The transport industry as a whole did not escape the effects of lockdown, either. As public transport was suspended during hard lockdown, trains came to a halt and stations became disused and were vandalised – this is an ongoing problem even now, and has taken a toll on the people in the community who were dependent on using the trains.
Mofokeng also notes that since the roads were used heavily before (and this is picking up again now), the infrastructure needs to be upgraded. “There’s a great need for the upgrading of roads that were not necessarily properly maintained before. That means there’ll be great work opportunities for civil engineering technologists,” she says.
According to her, civil engineering provides a fulfilling and rewarding career. Her advice to students interested in the field is that it’s important to build a strong community network. “You already have a community of like-minded pupils in school, and in varsity you build on that community with other engineering students. Then you build on that when you start working. This community is important for your growth and to provide support and guidance.”
Mofokeng finds her job fulfilling, and in the near future, would like to begin mentoring – especially high school pupils interested in engineering and first-year students studying civil engineering. She says, “I would like to give them the insight into the careers they can follow, and to encourage them to discover the industry and all that it has to offer.”