Inspiration

Full of Promise

Kutlwano Rasodi is a very eloquent young lady. When having a conversation with this 23 year old, one gets the feeling that they are speaking with a far older woman. There is no doubt that Kutlwano is matured beyond her years and there is much her peers could learn from her. This inspiring personality is bubbling with wisdom and advice which I am sure has a lot to do with her traditional upbringing.

Kutlwano is originally from Johannesburg and now lives in Cape Town where she is employed as a project manager by the Rabie Property Group. She enjoys her work very much because of the opportunity it affords her to interact with contractors and other people involved in a construction project. Kutlwano feels that understanding the symbiotic relationship between property and construction gives her a big picture perspective and says “having that vantage point is a great place to get started.”

Kutlwano was first attracted to the construction industry at a high school career day. The students were addressed by a female Quantity Surveyor who made a strong impression on her. Since Kutlwano was first presented with this career choice by a female Quantity Surveyor issues of this being an industry made up mostly by males did not really feature in her decision making process.

Kutlwano bravely states that she has not had any real challenges thus far in her life. As a student who always performed well at school and extra-curricular activities it was taken for granted that she would attend university. She says that her family has always been supportive of her and is very grateful to her mother who paid for her tertiary education. She says very casually that “everything that has been difficult thus far has just been a part of life.”

Kutlwano attributes much of her success to her family and her upbringing “I come from a big African family with many uncles, aunts and cousins who have always been closely involved in my life and my development. This means I am used to being around people all the time and have learnt to interact with different personalities and have an accommodating spirit. In this industry these traits are valuable because you meet people that are much older than you but have less formal education. My background allows me to interact with them and meet them on a level where they are respected even though I may be giving instruction and as such allows me to learn from them.”

Kutlwano is currently trying to mobilise students in built environment related studies in Cape Town to form an organisation which would be a platform for them to communicate across vocations, civil engineers speaking to architects, speaking to quantity surveyors. Kutlwano would also like for there to be more interaction with the industry “this interaction would help us gauge if what we are learning in lectures is current and relevant to the industry. Making sure that prospective employers have graduates that are equipped and have marketable skills.”

Inspiring words from Kutlwano Rasodi:

Kutlwano is inspired by change, progression and growth. She says “I am against stagnation. As living beings we should grow, it is a characteristic of any living organism. To show life we should always endeavour to progress in life and be better than we were the last time we measured our performance. Compete with yourself and be a better you.”