Kopano Headbush, Civil Engineer at WSP in Africa, knew from a young age that he wanted to create things. As a student in primary school Kopano developed an interest in the building and construction space that led him to doing job shadowing at a civil consulting company in high school. The subsequent construction boom prior to 2010 – including the construction of the Gautrain, airport upgrades and building of the stadiums for the Soccer World Cup - fanned the flames of that interest.
“When I matriculated, I decided to pursue civil engineering as a career and began my studies at Wits in 2015. It was there that I attained my BSC in Civil Engineering,” he relates.
Upon graduating, Kopano, who had secured a bursary while studying, began working for his sponsor, Jones and Wagner. Then in July of this year, he made the move to WSP.
Kopano explains that a standout advantage to working at WSP is the company culture. “There are so many amazing people that I have been fortunate to be part of a team with, and what has struck me is how friendly everyone is. Even those in senior positions are approachable,” he enthuses.
Apart from that, Kopano particularly enjoys the trust he is afforded and the freedom to pursue his own projects. This is invaluable, he explains, since most of the projects he has worked on since joining WSP were already underway. “Most of my work has been local, but I am starting to get considerable exposure to international work as well, particularly in Zambia and Botswana,” he adds.
Kopano's work to date has primarily been as the civil/tailings engineer in mine waste storage, catering to WSP’s mining clients that are assessing the feasibility of expanding or building new tailing storage facilities at their local operational sites.
“Many of these facilities are high risk, in the sense that if they fail or are not managed properly, they pose a significant danger to the environment and people in the area. Some of the work that the team I work with involves assessing the stability of the tailings storage facilities whether they are operated up to standard to check if they need to be closed, if they can still accommodate more waste, or if they need to be buttressed to make them safe amongst other options” he elaborates.
Kopano enthuses that a keen advantage of working at WSP is the exposure to working with, and learning from, other teams around the world, including those in India, Australia and Canada, specifically for the tailings and Geotech space.
“Because WSP is a multinational company, there is a big initiative to integrate and share resources amongst employees within the company globally. This enables me to benefit and learn from expertise in other countries that may not be available locally,” Kopano says.
“WSP also has Lunch and Learn talks and small online communities within the company called PANs, that focus on particular fields of interest. For example, I am part of the mine waste PAN, where people around the world within WSP share insights and tips of interest regarding mine waste,” he elaborates.
Along with learning from his colleagues, Kopano is learning in a more formal setting as well, as he is currently pursuing his postgraduate MBA degree.
When not working or studying, Kopano is an avid runner and can be found on the road training for the Cape Town marathon, which he successfully completed, or on the soccer pitch, playing the sport socially, making an uneventful weekend a rarity.
While Kopano has largely accomplished what he set his sights on many years ago in primary school, his passion for learning still burns brightly.
“The one philosophy I hold and the piece of advice I would give anyone wanting to pursue a career in engineering is to never stop learning. Learning doesn't stop when you graduate. Having an open mind and a willingness to learn from others, irrespective of whether they are in the same department or not, is so valuable. My ongoing goal is to learn from anywhere, and anyone, as much as possible,” says Kopano.
