Plumbing Travelling Exhibition (PTE) took place in Midrand on 18 July.
PTE took place on an unusually warm winter’s day on 18 July at Midrand High School, Midrand. There was a high-energy atmosphere as the first visitors entered the show and started to make their way around the stalls set up by exhibitors.
Among the attendees were Khulekile Sibisi and Nangamso Ngejane with their mentor Stephen Nkhula from Blockbusters Plumbing. These young students were keen to discover new tech on display. These intrepid learners are under the BluLever education programme and were eager to discover what various exhibitors had to teach them about plumbing.
“This was very helpful,” said Sibisi as she exited the exhibition. “I was particularly interested in all the stalls that had pipes and to learn what they did.”
Mentor Stephen Nkhula was pleased with the exhibition and felt it was particularly valuable to his students. “This is how they learn,” he said, “They must be exposed to the tools and equipment out there.”
Young Nathan Venter attended with his dad, Albert. Nathan matriculated in 2023 and hadn’t made up his mind regarding what he wanted to study. However, he felt a strong affinity towards plumbing. His father is a businessman and has not worked in plumbing at all, but accompanied his son to take a look at the number of exhibits.
The father-son duo attended two of the IOPSA workshops to help them get a better feel for the industry. Upon leaving, Nathan reported that while he hasn’t made his mind up to become a plumber as yet, he found the information presented valuable and felt that seeing the various exhibits and getting a chance to chat to people in the industry would assist him in making his career decision.
The day wasn’t just a valuable opportunity for students to learn, but the consummate professionals as well. Ruziwo Katsira from Yunik Engineering found the show helpful in terms of looking at what specific products were available, which is something he plans to keep in mind when it comes to upcoming projects.
IOPSA presented three workshops: Health and Safety, which was presented by Chris Coetzee from OHSS Consulting; Rainwater and Grey Water Harvesting by IOPSA National Training Manager Gerrie Botha; and The Cost of Being in Business presented by IOPSA’s National Technical Manager Steve van Zyl.
Take a look at our gallery of pictures here:
