Mauritian success story abroad: Roy Latchanna

Following in his father’s footsteps... in Australia. On 23 January 2007, Roy Latchanna put down his luggage in Australia, more precisely in Sydney. He left Mauritius with only one goal: to continue his studies in plumbing to be able to shape his career in this field. In fact, all he wanted to do was to follow the steps of his father. Since childhood, Roy was passionate about everything which has to do with plumbing. “In fact, my father was a contractor in this field. Whenever he had plumbing works to undertake, I always accompanied him. It was a pleasure to admire him repairing taps, tubes, among others. It was while helping him very often that I developed a passion for this business. This is how I decided to follow in the footsteps of my father,” relates Roy. To start this new adventure, he followed a full time course at the IVTB in Beau Bassin. However, his ambition was far beyond that. “In Mauritius, there is a lack of training on specific techniques and the course I wanted to follow was not available. It concerns mainly the evaluation in plumbing,” admits the latter. Thus, the idea of learning this process abroad came to his mind.

Start as cook in a restaurant

After saving some money over time and with the financial support of his family, Roy flew to Australia. However, when Roy set foot in this new country, life was not easy as he thought it would be. In a foreign country, he had to be completely independent. “I had to work and study at the same time,” he says. To begin, Roy started to work in a restaurant as a cook. He also worked for a few months in the maintenance department of a private firm. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"21115","attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter size-full wp-image-35044","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"600","height":"450","alt":"roy-et-rina"}}]] Six years later, Roy moved to Perth. His aim was to continue his course in plumbing in a polytechnic school. “During my studies, I bagged a job in a company which was specialised in maintenance services. For me, it was an opportunity to put into practice of all that I learned during my course,” he states. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"21119","attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-35054 alignleft","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"288","height":"204","alt":"logo-de-roy---dodo"}}]]At that time, Joy had already gained his work permit. However, he was quite reluctant. “Then my brother and my wife encouraged me to start my own business. Therefore, in January 2013, I launched my own business ‘Roy Plumbing and Gas’,” he says. His job not only concerned plumbing services or maintenance but also providing evaluation of projects, just as he had dreamt of. “For example, if a person wants to build a house, I have to make an evaluation of the plumbing procedures and the installation of gas and sanitary equipment,” says our interlocutor. Though his job is very lucrative, the biggest challenge he faces in this business is national standards that change regularly. “There are always changes in the norms and standards on plumbing processes. Therefore, we must constantly ensure that the work delivered is in accordance with the national standards. If we make the slightest mistake, we can easily lose the license,” he says. His customers include shopping malls, private firms, restaurants and individuals. Another challenge is the competition in the plumbing market. “To be able to differentiate myself from others, I use technologically advanced equipment and tools, even if they are expensive,” he shares. Roy works alone but when the orders pile in, he employs people on a part time basis. Being a Mauritian and to work for his own in a foreign country is not an issue for him. “My customers trust me completely. They can even leave their keys with me to complete the plumbing works if they are not present,” he says.

Passion for cooking

Married, Joy considers himself to be lucky to have the support of his wife Rina in his business. “My wife is a Revenue Manager in a hotel. Since she already has the experience and expertise, she always helps me in the management and marketing of my business,” he says. During his spare time, Roy loves to spend the day in the kitchen. “I like to cook. I feel relaxed when I do so,” he adds. Moreover, he also loves to take his wife for long drives. “During the weekend, we are like nomads. We can drive for hours and our car is well equipped with everything we need for a trip,” he says. Despite settled in Australia, Roy makes the trip to Mauritius at least once a year to spend quality time with his family. “What I miss most are the beaches of our beautiful island. In Australia, the presence of sharks scares me,” he laughs.