Perseverance sees his dream fly high
NKOSI ’ S JOB IS TO CONTROL PLANES
GROWING up on a farm in Mooiplaas, Mpumalanga, where aeroplanes were only seen flying past high in the sky, Makhosini Nkosi never dreamt of ever seeing the inside of one.
But all that is now history as the 36-year-old is in a position to help control aeroplanes at 21 regional and international airports.
Today, Nkosi works as a junior systems engineer for communication navigation and surveillance planning at Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS).
He and his colleagues are responsible for systems planning that help air traffic controllers (ATC) to communicate with pilots and monitor the planes.
They are also used by pilots for navigation.
But the road to achieving a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering was not easy for Nkosi, who completed his matric in 1993.
“I could not immediately continue with my studies because my family could not afford university fees,” he told Sowetan.
Nkosi also recalled his late start at school.
“I started school two years older [than children my age] because I could not travel 10km to the nearest school. I waited until I was eight, but still that distance was energy-sapping for a child my age,” he said. Before finally registering at a tertiary institution, Nkosi worked odd jobs for three years – and that included gardening – to raise money for university fees.
“During that time, I applied for
I could not continue with my studies because of lack of funds
bursaries and I was accepted for a year-long programme that was run by the University of Pretoria,” he said.
“The programme was aimed at uplifting students from disadvantaged backgrounds who had an interest in the field of science.”
The hard-working Nkosi finished the programme and continued to register for a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering.
“I used the money I saved doing odd jobs to pay for my registration, but I could not continue the following year because I owed tuition fees. I was forced to drop out for two years,” he said.
Nkosi was again forced to work odd jobs to raise more money to later continue with his studies.
He went back to the university where he finally graduated in 2013.
During that year, ATNS made presentations at the institution about the careers they offered to engineering students.
“I applied, and fortunately I was accepted into their aviation training academy in 2014. I was appointed to my [current] position in 2015,” he said.
Nkosi has now completed his honours degree and is expected to graduate next month. He is currently busy with his masters.
“Engineering is challenging, and that attracted me to this field because I like challenges.”
He said there was no room for errors in his job.
“We deal with people ’ s lives and we should always be on our toes. But I would be lying if I say I don’t love my job. I worked tirelessly to be where I am today.”
In the near future, Nkosi said he planned to become a systems engineer and to later register as a professional engineer.