TRANSNET National Ports Authority (TNPA) and the Port of East London are celebrating the triumph of the port’s Chief Engineering Technician, Sinqobile Nkabinde (pictured), who was announced as winner of the Transport, Logistics & Security category at the 7th Annual Standard Bank Rising Stars Awards in Johannesburg recently.
South Africa’s only river port had two out of five finalists in the category – the other being Deputy Port Engineer, Kwazelela ‘Kwazi’ Mcetywa. The awards recognise young, talented employees in the 28-40 age category across a variety of industries and leading organisations.
East London Port Manager Sharon Sijako said: “It is a fantastic achievement for this young professional from our port to have beaten hundreds of entries from across the country. We are very proud of him and glad to have played a small role in his development thus far. We also congratulate Kwazi on being among the finalists.”
Speaking after his win Nkabinde said: “It’s been overwhelming so far. I was not expecting it, but I am thrilled to have won after various stages of the awards process. The interviews in particular were gruelling and when I’d completed mine I had no idea where I stood.
“Three panellists interrogated my personal leadership style, my values, ethics and behaviour. There was also a case study which examined the business decisions you would make if you were the director of the company in question. In addition, we had to compile a long essay outlining our personal attributes, strengths, weaknesses, vulnerabilities and how we are working to address each of these.”
Nkabinde said it was a challenge to juggle the process with his busy workload at the port, however he worked on his awards submissions on weekends and after hours.
He said the win was the biggest highlight of his career so far and that he was looking forward to the networking opportunities it would bring, as well as the opportunity to mentor other young professionals entering the workplace.
Nkabinde joined the Port of East London in June 2014. He is a Professional Engineering Technologist registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA). He grew up in Isipingo, Durban and attended Umlazi Comtech High School, before graduating from Durban University of Technology with a N-Diploma and then a B-Tech in Civil Engineering in 2013.
He is 32 years old, newly married with one daughter and he and his young family now call East London home.
“The Marine environment is my new sweetheart. I wasn’t familiar with the maritime industry even while growing up in Durban and my first exposure to the field came when I moved to East London,” he said.
He plans to build further on his expertise by pursuing a Masters in Coastal Engineering in the very near future.