Panel beating is a committed career

The two requirements for becoming an apprentice is Grade 10 with Afrikaans, English, maths and one technical subject and the applicant must be 16 years or older.

Companies with apprentices need to be registered at the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education Authority (Mersita) and all tradesmen need to be registered there as well.

A company registers an apprentice for a four year course.

The course is divided into 12 modules per year.

Martie Mendonca, administrative manager at a local business dealing with apprentices, says only the last module, which is the final module of the year, is written at a registered training facility.

“The rest of the modules are written, under supervision, at the apprentice’s place of employment,” she says.

Although the tuition fees are usually paid by the company, it is approximately R16 000 including all the necessary stationery.

Older tradesman with six years experience and Grade 12 can apply for a section 28 qualification to become a qualified panel beater.

The section 28 application is the same as the red seal that used to be given to tradesmen.

According to Martie the section 28 exam will cost about R3 000.

Local panel beater Peter Tsitsikronis says the working hours of a panel beater are 48 hours per week from 7.30am to 5.30pm every day.

A guideline of salaries are determined by the Motor Industrial Bargaining Council (Mibco).

According to Martie it is a rough estimate of what the employee needs to be paid.

An approximate salary is R1 1000 per week for the first year of apprenticeship and R1 600 in the fourth year of studying.

The average salary of a qualified beginner is R2 000 per week, depending on the company the employee works for.

Peter says it is hard work to be a panel beater.

His advice to potential apprentices is to be proud of their career choice, to work hard and commit themselves.

He believes if a tradesman is not proud of what he is doing, it is a waste of time.