Hands-on all the way
A young businessman has opened up his joinery business and shares his story about how he became a joiner and what he is most passionate about.
Kevin Shivute is a young entrepreneur with gifted hands. He describes himself as a “joiner on steroids”. Shivute is slowly but surely making a name for himself for his amazing take on carpentry. The young businessman hails from Oshakati where he completed his secondary education at Mweshipandeka High School. He says his passion for woodwork was developed in his high school days and that is where he learnt a lot about his career. “I had design and technology in school and woodwork as a subject as well as technical drawing, and that’s where I learned,” said Shivute.
After he did not do well in his Grade 12 exams Shivute was devastated and resorted to working at a carwash as a handyman. He soon realised that he was not cut out for this work and then applied at a local vocational training centre. “I had to quit school because I had a misunderstanding with my lecturers because my subjects were taught in Afrikaans. Financially it was always not good with me,” said Shivute. Upon quitting the vocational training centre he went back to Oshakati where he worked in a local retail store. “I actually went back to Oshakati and started working at Ackermans Oyetu and then from there I applied to a vocational centre in Windhoek,” said Shivute.
In 2011 he joined the vocational training centre in Windhoek and then dropped out again because he wanted to work on his own. “I still could not finish because I just felt like I was doing only what people were telling me to do. It was not my thing so I started working on my own,” said Shivute. Shivute said he soon started fixing cupboards for clients and that enabled him to perfect his skills in carpentry. “I started fixing peoples’ stuff and I observed things clearly. I would draw them and fix them and that is how I learned,” said Shivute. Shivute also used the internet to perfect his skills. “The internet taught me as well. I used to watch videos on how to make things on youtube and google,” said Shivute.
Shivute says what brings joy to his heart as a joiner is the fact that he gets to challenge himself and puts a smile on a client’s face when they ask him to design and create something for him. “When I design something for my clients, put it together, show it to the person and they do not believe that I did it, that’s what I love about my job,” said Shivute. Shivute says that people tend to confuse carpenters and joiners. “I decided to become a joiner instead of a carpenter they are actually similar but also not really the same,” said Shivute. Carpenters work with wood and he works with board. “Carpenters work with real wood but I work with board when I design and create my furniture,” said Shivute. He doubles as a designer and joiner and that is what sets him apart from everyone else. “Not only am I a joiner, I also design my own furniture and sometimes I also have to design things for the clients.”
He says vocational training is a very important tool for educating and empowering people and should not be frowned upon. “When it comes to working with your hands it is way different from being in an office because you actually get work done and you will never struggle,” said Shivute. Shivute says that people with vocational skills are no different than those in any other career. “For me as a joiner I do joinery and it is more or less the same as any other trade,” shared Shivute. He employs people from other professions to also work for him and people should not look down on vocational trainees. “I employ people to work on my paperwork such as my accounting, letters and quotations and I basically I am their boss now,” said Shivute. What excites him about his career is that he can create whatever he wants for himself. “If I want to weld something or make furniture I just wake up and do it because I know how to do it myself,” shared Shivute.
Shivute’s company is Bryant joinery. The joiner says the only challenges he faces are brought by clients who do not want to pay after he creates something for them. “Clients are always sweet and smooth before you do something for them but some do not want to pay their outstanding balance when you finish something for them,” said Shivute. Since he is an entrepreneur in the small and medium enterprises sector (SME) he faces a few issues with machinery and equipment. “I have to order my machinery from bigger businesses and I am not the only who does that. This slows down my progress when it comes to delivery because my suppliers sometimes do not give me my materials on time,” said Shivute.
Despite the challenges he faces he says he knows he will prevail. “Apart from those few challenges the industry is not difficult for me,” shared Shivute
The entrepreneur says he wants to position himself in Namibia as a supplier of manufactured furniture and wants people in the near future to flock to him when they need designs and furniture created for them. “I want to challenge huge companies in Namibia and show them that I can also do what they do and that I am no different from them… I can also deliver what they can,” said Shivute.
“Hopefully I will be supplying all these foreign shops with furniture instead of them ordering from outside the country, or I will be giving them tough time because I will be doing the exact same thing they do for half the price,” said Shivute.
Shona Ngava
After he did not do well in his Grade 12 exams Shivute was devastated and resorted to working at a carwash as a handyman. He soon realised that he was not cut out for this work and then applied at a local vocational training centre. “I had to quit school because I had a misunderstanding with my lecturers because my subjects were taught in Afrikaans. Financially it was always not good with me,” said Shivute. Upon quitting the vocational training centre he went back to Oshakati where he worked in a local retail store. “I actually went back to Oshakati and started working at Ackermans Oyetu and then from there I applied to a vocational centre in Windhoek,” said Shivute.
In 2011 he joined the vocational training centre in Windhoek and then dropped out again because he wanted to work on his own. “I still could not finish because I just felt like I was doing only what people were telling me to do. It was not my thing so I started working on my own,” said Shivute. Shivute said he soon started fixing cupboards for clients and that enabled him to perfect his skills in carpentry. “I started fixing peoples’ stuff and I observed things clearly. I would draw them and fix them and that is how I learned,” said Shivute. Shivute also used the internet to perfect his skills. “The internet taught me as well. I used to watch videos on how to make things on youtube and google,” said Shivute.
Shivute says what brings joy to his heart as a joiner is the fact that he gets to challenge himself and puts a smile on a client’s face when they ask him to design and create something for him. “When I design something for my clients, put it together, show it to the person and they do not believe that I did it, that’s what I love about my job,” said Shivute. Shivute says that people tend to confuse carpenters and joiners. “I decided to become a joiner instead of a carpenter they are actually similar but also not really the same,” said Shivute. Carpenters work with wood and he works with board. “Carpenters work with real wood but I work with board when I design and create my furniture,” said Shivute. He doubles as a designer and joiner and that is what sets him apart from everyone else. “Not only am I a joiner, I also design my own furniture and sometimes I also have to design things for the clients.”
He says vocational training is a very important tool for educating and empowering people and should not be frowned upon. “When it comes to working with your hands it is way different from being in an office because you actually get work done and you will never struggle,” said Shivute. Shivute says that people with vocational skills are no different than those in any other career. “For me as a joiner I do joinery and it is more or less the same as any other trade,” shared Shivute. He employs people from other professions to also work for him and people should not look down on vocational trainees. “I employ people to work on my paperwork such as my accounting, letters and quotations and I basically I am their boss now,” said Shivute. What excites him about his career is that he can create whatever he wants for himself. “If I want to weld something or make furniture I just wake up and do it because I know how to do it myself,” shared Shivute.
Shivute’s company is Bryant joinery. The joiner says the only challenges he faces are brought by clients who do not want to pay after he creates something for them. “Clients are always sweet and smooth before you do something for them but some do not want to pay their outstanding balance when you finish something for them,” said Shivute. Since he is an entrepreneur in the small and medium enterprises sector (SME) he faces a few issues with machinery and equipment. “I have to order my machinery from bigger businesses and I am not the only who does that. This slows down my progress when it comes to delivery because my suppliers sometimes do not give me my materials on time,” said Shivute.
Despite the challenges he faces he says he knows he will prevail. “Apart from those few challenges the industry is not difficult for me,” shared Shivute
The entrepreneur says he wants to position himself in Namibia as a supplier of manufactured furniture and wants people in the near future to flock to him when they need designs and furniture created for them. “I want to challenge huge companies in Namibia and show them that I can also do what they do and that I am no different from them… I can also deliver what they can,” said Shivute.
“Hopefully I will be supplying all these foreign shops with furniture instead of them ordering from outside the country, or I will be giving them tough time because I will be doing the exact same thing they do for half the price,” said Shivute.
Shona Ngava
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