“Coming from a rural high school, resources were very limited,” John says. “But one thing we did have was extremely dedicated and inspiring teachers. With their support I managed to achieve distinctions in Mathematics and Science in Matric, and was able to complete my BSc in Civil Engineering from the University of Cape Town.”
John is committed not only to technical excellence, but to paying forward the support and mentorship he benefitted from as a student. “My first year at UCT was a big adjustment from high school, and very challenging,” he recalls. “But I was privileged enough to have a very good mentor at university. I always say that, had it not been for the Civil Engineering Mentorship Programme at UCT, I probably wouldn’t have finished my studies.”
Seeing the impact of mentorship in his own life is the reason John has made it a priority throughout his career to mentor other young engineers. “I became passionate with, and committed to, mentoring and developing others the way I was mentored. I became a mentor on UCT’s mentorship programme while completing my undergrad, and became president of the Engineering Student Council. I joined the SRC as well, because I wanted a wider platform to offer support to students.”
John graduated in 2015 on a bursary from the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) and joined the parastatal’s Graduate Programme immediately. He achieved his Professional Engineer (Pr Eng) registration with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) within four years of joining the Graduate Programme. He has racked up eight years of industry experience in research, planning, design, construction, and maintenance of transport and road infrastructure.
John then went on to complete his M.Eng in Transport Studies (with distinction in dissertation) and start a family during the COVID-19 Pandemic. “It was a very challenging and intense time, but I managed to do it,” he smiles.
“The time I spent at SANRAL was very rewarding, as I gained a lot of exposure to planning, design, construction and maintenance of roads projects and was able to do a lot work with communities, which gave me a real sense of purpose,” John says. “Looking back on the journey, I was extremely grateful for the opportunity to grow as a professional, but I was ready for a new challenge. I wanted to know if I could thrive in the private sector as well.” That’s when the opportunity to join WSP came about.
“I wanted to join not just a consulting firm, but one of the best consulting firms in the world,” he recalls, “so I was excited to make the change.”
As an Associate within WSP in Africa’s Transport & Infrastructure Division, John leads multiple local and global projects. He was recently awarded the 2023 South African Institute of Civil Engineering (SAICE) Highly Commended Young Engineer of the Year, and was recently awarded the 2023 Quarterly WSP Impact Player Award – a company award given to those who perform at an exceptional standard and deliver a positive impact on projects, clients, or business deliverables. Most recently, John has been selected to champion the development and implementation of WSP in Africa’s ESG & Future Ready Mindset awareness efforts and reporting across multiple mining, roads and transportation projects.
His passion for paying it forward remains strong, as John provides structured and professional mentorship to multiple Candidate Engineers within and outside WSP to help them achieve their ECSA professional registration. Furthermore, John runs a non-profit “LIFT & RISE Mentorship Programme”, which focuses on providing structured mentorship to engineering students at universities across South Africa.
“Growing up in a part of South Africa where basic infrastructure was severely lacking really contributed greatly to my choice of career. We had no roads and we often had to collect river water for purposes other than consumption because we didn’t have access to water infrastructure,” John recalls. “I realised that civil engineering lies at the centre of all the things my community didn’t have access to. At university, when I was asked why I chose Civil Engineering, I would say ‘because one day I want to go home to build roads where I come from’. With experience, I’ve learned that It’s more complicated than that, but making a positive impact in communities remains a critical driver for me.”
“Joining WSP has been nothing short of an inspiration to me,” he concludes. “WSP and I share the value of creating positive change in communities, and being encouraged by my company to do that - through mentoring young engineers and through the projects we work on - is wonderful.”
