Media Release: “I am the first one” – GRDM helped Thembisa to obtain her Code 14 licence

For Immediate Release
2 February 2021

A proud moment was shared by Thembisa Ntshebe, a Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) Grader Assistant who now has two licences – a Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) and a Heavy Motor Vehicle (HMV) one. GRDM afforded her and many others the opportunity to pursue various drivers licences by recently launching a R550 000, 3-year long Driver’s License Project.

The GRDM Corporate Services head of department, Trix Holtzhausen, has spearheaded the drive for women empowerment to address inequalities linked to traditionally male dominated career fields in the municipality. “This programme will enable women to transform not only the GRDM Roads Services Department’s employment equity composition, but gender parity in a male dominated sector too,” she said.

According to Reginald Salmons, GRDM Coordinator: Skills Development, “the institution identified 74 recipients to get a Code B, 10 and EC license, of which 40 are female”. “The GRDM appointed the Victoria Driving School to provide training over the period.”

During an interview with Thembisa, she shared that she was dreaming about getting a Code 14 licence ever since she started working for GRDM on 1 November 2017. “I know that this is the key I need for doors to open in the future.” Supervisors, superintendents and traffic control officers are some of the career fields that require Code 14 licences.

“Even though I did not pass the first time around I pushed myself and today I am a proud owner of a Code 14 licence”, she said. Thembisa is also the first female enrolled in this project to obtain a Code 14 licence.
This licence allows licensees to drive a vehicle weighing over 16 000 Kg, with a trailer hooked to it that weighs more than 750 Kg. Moreover, those who are in possession of such a licence can operate vehicles under codes 8, 10 and EB too.

When responding to Thembisa’s achievement, Shandré Abrahams, HR Practitioner: Employee Assistance Programme said, “It makes me proud to hear and see women equipping themselves in skills that they never thought would be possible to acquire. It therefore remains important for the GRDM to stay committed to gender empowerment and in acknowledgement of the fact that the glass ceiling can be broken”.
While it remains important for the GRDM to see women empowered, it is equally important to identify gender disparities that have existed for a number of years in certain positions. It is only possible for the GRDM to achieve this when the institution prioritises women empowerment programmes and put its funds where its mouth is.

Caption: Thembisa Ntshebe showcases proof that she passed her Code 14 license

ENDS