Samson Sibande grew up in a far-off place called Fernie which falls between Swaziland and Ermelo. It was here that he matriculated with an exemption in 2002, only to discover - much to his dismay - that his parents had made no provision for him to study further, and that his good matric results and obvious aptitude might well go wasted. After spending the better part of 2003 at home, his father – the brother of African Academy Board of Trustee member Cleopas Sibande, decided in August of 2003 to take his son’s future in his own hands and see whether the boy’s uncle could help him get a foot in the door at the Academy.

Samson was delighted to be called in for an interview at the Academy by Principal Debbie van Niekerk who, having seen his Matric Certificate noted that he had opted for the mainstream Sciences like Maths and Biology at school, and unfortunately had no drafting background. She advised him to register at a Technical College and complete his N2 and N3 Certificate. Committed to seeing his son succeed, Samson’s father managed to scrape together the money for him to take his N1, N2 and N3 through Daveyton College. Desperate to make his parents proud and earn a place at the Academy, Samson worked hard, truly applied himself and by the end of the year had completed all three Certificates and was awarded the accolade for the Top Student in Fitting and Turning – an award which had SA Express trying to snatch him up to work for them.

Although flattered and encouraged by their interest, Samson was still intent on getting accepted at the Academy to complete his General Draughting Certificate. While still waiting for his N3 results from the Daveyton Technical College, he reapplied at the Academy were he was accepted in principle on the basis of his other marks, and on the condition that his N3 marks made the cut. He achieved mostly ‘C’s’ and while the Academy had held higher expectations, they were satisfied with his results and accepted him for 2005.

When Samson went on to pass all his subjects and achieve a distinction in Mechanical Orientation in his March exams, he even had his Principal admitting they had been wrong to doubt his ability and dedication, and had made the right decision in accepting him. When Hatch Africa came to the Academy looking to place its best students, Samson was one of thirteen candidates who was identified, and one of the narrowed-down nine who was considered by their recruitment panel. After being called back for a second interview, Samson, who had been incredibly nervous throughout the process, was surprised but ecstatic to learn that he was one of the six successful candidates to be placed.

In February last year, as part of a standard probationary period, he was enrolled with the company on a six month Microstation training programme in current disciplines, with no guarantee of a permanent position thereafter. Having indicated to the company that his preferred discipline would be to work in Civil, Samson inadvertently put himself at a disadvantage of the five competing candidates, as the Civil department was full at the time and he was sent to spend a period of up to three months working in Document Control while he waited for a position to open.

Bored by the monotonous and taxing admin and filing he was tasked with, and convinced that the other candidates were already winning the race for the open positions at the company, there was a time when Samson almost threw in the towel. Fortunately the channels of communication with the Academy had always remained open, and he phoned his Principal Debbie who gave him a much-needed pep-talk and advised him to hang in there and not give up prematurely. Thankfully he took her advise – for just a few short weeks later - after only a month spent biding his time in Document Control, Samson received a call from one of the supervisors in the Civil department to tell him that a position had opened and it was time for him to move across.

Once again he was employed on a six month probationary contract during which period he received a comprehensive orientation into his expected role within the department, and was assigned mentors to show him the ropes and share their years of experience and knowledge. It took Samson only four-and-a-half months to prove his worth to the company who took him on permanently as a junior civil draughtsman.

After just over a year of designing roads and stormwater drains, Samson is still passionate about his work and excited by its challenges. A company-sponsored degree in Engineering may also be on the horizon for him as his supervisor seems committed to developing the talent of his team and honing their specialized skills. To this end, Samson feels his draughting qualification and background have prepared him well for this undertaking.

Reflecting on how far he has come since leaving school and how he has defied the odds against him, Samson sings the praises of the Academy and acknowledges the pivotal role they played in getting him to where he is today. He notes that while the Academy ‘may not be big in size or stature’, it is ‘recognised by some of the biggest and best companies - some even international, as the producer of first class draughting talent.’