Michael Jokiwe was almost forced into the job of being a painter in a desperate search for work. At the time, it was one of the few things he could do to earn a decent living for himself. But Michael has other dreams, and one day wants to work on a construction site operating a TLV loader. He hopes to achieve this dream one day, but in the meantime, explains to us what being a painter in a modern South Africa is all about.

Basics

A painter is someone who literally applies paint to houses and buildings. It is a very labour- intensive position and on average professional painters work 10 day periods, with a few days off and then on again for a standard rate of around R90 a day. This rate can differ, depending on where in the country the person is employed as rural areas tend to pay lower than urban areas.

Job description

A painter is someone who applies paint to surfaces. This can be done privately, as in a house or flat, both indoors and outdoors or commercial painting, larger areas – such as offices, warehouses, etc,.indoors and outdoors. The former refers to a situation where individuals are normally present while the latter refers to an area where a team of painters usually works  together.

Pros and cons

There are a number of pros, and Michael believes they make the job fun. "For instance, you get to be part of making something beautiful. You get to do something that improves the area that you are working on and makes it nicer. There is that sort of job satisfaction."

As for the cons, "sometimes the hours are long and the work is difficult. The areas you work in are not always the easiest to move in and at times you don`t have the equipment you need to do the job properly. Sometimes you are also rushed to meet a deadline,

Required studies or experience

There are few tertiary qualifications that will qualify you to become a painter. In most cases, there is a sort of apprenticeship to be served at a construction company or paint company where you will do on-the-job training and learn the art from someone who is more experienced than yourself. "This is especially helpful when it comes to mixing colours," Michael adds, "because that is one of the more difficult parts of the job. You need to learn the ability to recognize different colours as there are so many shades of a particular colour and choosing the wrong one in a situation can lead to costly delays."

Personality types

To be a painter, you need to be someone who enjoys working outdoors. To do that, you need to be someone who can work with your hands, and do a meticulous job. Neatness and attention to detail are important here. You also need to be able to deal with people, take advice and offer advice when necessary.

An average day

Depending on the type of work done, the average day can be anything but average. This all depends on the areas that need to be painted and the places you need to work. On average, a painter begins work at 07:00 and works until 17:00 in the afternoon, and again, on average, the work-length is until the required job is done.

The worst thing about the job

"When the work is tough and there are many cracks that you have to fix before you can start. This is both time-consuming and frustrating as it delays the job."

The best thing about the job

"The fact that you can see a job to completion, and that you do different things every day."

Brenden Nel