Author: Monewa Matlwa

During my time working at South African Breweries (SAB), I watched young graduates arrive on the factory floor holding hard-earned chemistry degrees. They possessed brilliant theoretical minds, understanding molecular bonds and complex reactions on paper. Yet, when a critical machine on the production line broke down, those degrees often couldn’t get the line moving again. The people who kept the heart of the operation beating were the artisans. They didn’t hold four-year university qualifications, but they possessed years of practical, vocational experience. They understood the mechanics and the immediate problem-solving required to keep a complex operation running – and some…