AN NCVL4 student from Ngqungqushe Campus in Lusikisiki, which falls under Ingwe TVET College, Makabongwe Makalisa (20), lifted the flag of this college high, as he obtained second place in the World Skills South Africa (WSZA) National Competition last week.
This competition was held at the International Convention Centre in Durban.
Makabongwe said there were a lot of skills, but he chose to compete in Auto Mobile Technology.
He said that he started competing with the local hits where he was competing with different TVET colleges from the Eastern Cape, last year.
“I obtained position one. I then proceeded to the provincial competition that was held in Gqeberha where I sat on the same position. The national competition was supposed to be held in Durban in December 2023, but was postponed to this month (February) because some of the students were writing their final exams. Even though it was postponed we were always doing training,” said Makabongwe.
He added that their competition took two weeks; then the winners were announced, last week.
He said that he is happy, because they were competing with TVET colleges from nine provinces, but he managed to go home with a silver medal.
“I was very happy even though my coach and I were aiming for position one, but it was not easy. Two modules were added each and every time when we proceeded to the next level. The competition was very tough. Now I am still waiting for a call because we are going to prepare for competing in France. I can proudly say that I know how to start a car from scratch, because of what I have learnt from this campus.”
Makabongwe advised young people to also go to TVET colleges, stating that by doing so they are paving their way to become self-employed. His father, Given Makalise, said that he was very proud about what Makabongwe did.
Makalisa confirmed that his son followed in his steps because he is also a mechanic.
“This shows that he does not want to be a bush mechanic like me; he wants to be a professional one. I am proud because he managed to finish what he started; it means he listens to me. He worked very hard and I am a happy father; even the nation is proud of him. He must keep it up and know that he does not drop the ball,” said Makalisa.
The curriculum manager of Ingwe TVET College, Mandla Mngomeni, said that Makabongwe had put the name of this college on the map.
“He is very dedicated to his work, to the extent that he has four distinctions as we speak. We were thinking that he will obtain position one because he knows what he wants in life. Now he will be trained with the winner who obtained a gold medal. If he does well in the training he will go and perform in Lyon in France in September. Between the two, there is only one student who will go; it will be the one who obtains the gold medal,” said Mngomeni.
He advised other students to ensure that they learn something from Makabongwe. He added that they should love their careers and be disciplined all the time.
