MEET Sizakele Mdlalose, a finance and administrations manager and long-serving employee at Ingqapheli Security. Her career began in 2005 as a security officer and the following year she was promoted to administrative assistant.
Employment at Ingqapheli Security meant she could fulfil her dream of studying further, so she completed her National Diploma in Financial Management in 2014 and was promoted to the position of financial clerk, a role she held until 2019. Thereafter, she she moved into the position of finance and administrations manager while in her final year of a B.Com Financial Management degree.
Sizakele’s duties include overseeing various departments, on-site follow-ups for deadlines and duties, and submissions of departmental reports.
‘I’m aware of the challenges faced by security guards when fulfilling their duties. Being a security officer is often equated to being a means-to-an-end for unemployment – at the bottom of the employment chain. However, it is through the intensive training at Ingqapheli Security that we have managed to push through this stigma and carry out our jobs with confidence,’ said Sizakele.
She said there is a misconception that a security officer’s job does not require intelligence, but with the backing of Ingqapheli Security, many of her colleagues managed to further their studies and have followed different career paths.
‘The environment at Ingqapheli Security, and the encouragement by the leaders of the company, motivates us as employees to believe in ourselves and to pursue our dreams. It shows that, with the right environment and coaching, the security industry could be a conduit to a better life. One has to start somewhere.’
Sizakele’s journey at Ingqapheli Security has been an exceptional one. Sixteen years after starting out at the guarding post, she has worked her way up to a managerial position in an office. And she works hard to continue breaking stereotypes and misconceptions about the industry.
‘I am grateful for the opportunity to grow and continue soaring within Ingqapheli Security,’ said Sizakele.
