The first female Installation Technician
within the Trellidor franchise network is living her dream. Martha Mwitha is
employed by Trellidor Malawi and she not only loves her job but also achieved
an impressive 100% in the recent Trellidor International certification tests
held at Trellidor head office in Durban recently.
“This was a great accomplishment considering
that English is not her first language.
I knew that all the lectures and tests would be held in English so
before she left for Durban with the rest of our team, I encouraged her to ask
questions if she didn’t understand anything said by the facilitators. Even so,
for her to get 100% on the tests is just awesome.” George Chirombe, General Manager
of Trellidor Malawi.
Martha’s technical skills have never been in
doubt. She is a qualified Grade One
Carpenter with an Advanced Diploma. “She
worked in our picture framing business and we realised she had natural
technical ability so we gave her the opportunity to train as a Trellidor
installer.”
Martha was trained by Nickson Phiri,
Trellidor Malawi’s top Trellidor expert, and her peer Chimwemwe Chitseko, who
has been installing Trellidor products since around 2003. Chimwemwe also
visited Durban Head Office for training around 2007. Martha installs the full range of Trellidor
barriers and has been with the company for eight years now.
“Her colleagues treat her as an equal. She is
always in the forefront when it comes to taking on difficult tasks. She joins
her male colleagues on installations out of town where they can spend up to a
week in the bush. She is an amazing character,” said George.
Trellidor International Sales and Marketing
Manager Kevin Bonner agrees. “Martha was
very shy during the lecture sessions, obviously due to the language barrier,
but once she was on the factory floor she came alive! It was phenomenal to see her enthusiastically
join the production staff in their tasks and this is undoubtedly her natural
element.”
George says that some customers are surprised
when she arrives on site and feel uncomfortable at first. “I once had a client
who requested a “different” installer. After assuring him of Martha’s
capabilities he accepted her and after the installation he had very kind words
for Martha. We have had many clients now that call in to request her to handle
their installations.”
“As an employer it gives me great joy to see
an employee like Martha realising her dreams. I had many capable males to send
for training but somehow I settled for Martha. I strongly believe that that
decision might one day reward not only our business but The Trellidor brand.”
Martha says that as much as this job is male
dominated she sees them as equals. She loves her job with all her heart and is
prepared to face any challenges. She says the trip to Durban, which was her
first ever trip outside her birth country Malawi, has given her an extra boost.
She declares that we haven’t seen the best of her yet!