"It has been draining": Gauteng fitter and turner shares how job hunt affected her

• A hard-working mother has been putting her shoulder to the wheel in her ardent search for sustainable employment
• Nhladiseng Pricilla Lempe is a fitter and turner in the Gauteng province and recently obtained a contractual position
• The loving mom opens up about what keeps her going despite her desperate search for employment at over 10 businesses

One mom in Gauteng is determined to give her kids a good life. The fitter and turner has been to interviews at more than 10 companies in 2023.

Grateful Nhladiseng Pricilla Lempe previously told Briefly News about the challenges women in engineering often face, with men still dominating the field.

Now, in a quick follow-up chat, the mom shares how the stressful job search has affected her.

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Gauteng mom hunts for job

Nhladiseng shares that while her employment search has been quite overwhelming, her responsibilities as a mother meant she could never quit:

“It has been draining and stressful, but I kept my faith that one day things would work out for the better. I had to be strong for my kids because I didn’t want my stress to affect them.”

The mechanical engineer has a six-month contract at a foundry and is making the most of her current job.

Fitter and turner shares dreams

Nhladiseng wants to further her education and hopes that by bagging her degree, she will be able to obtain better job opportunities:

“I am planning on enrolling with MANCOSA college. I want to study for a Bachelor of Business Administration.

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“I have realised that with age, I won’t be able to continue being a fitter. That is why I’m taking a different approach. I want to hold a managerial position in the future – that is my biggest goal at this point even though our industry is male-dominant.

“We still have a long way to go before we can have 50% women in management positions. I will have to work a little extra to achieve that.”

Meet Mzansi’s first black female SACMA head

In a related story by Briefly News, Nozipho Dlamini is breaking the glass ceiling in the mining sector, with the iconoclast undertaking various roles in the field.

The 35-year-old is a mining engineer, and in 2022, she became the first black woman to become the president of the South African Colliery Managers’ Association (SACMA).

Source: Briefly News