Choppies duo grab life-changing opportunity
Two years ago, two Choppies employees won life-changing scholarships to study abroad courtesy of the Indian High Commission.
Open to the public as part of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) programme, which offers over 3, 000 scholarships to foreign students from 180 countries, Choppies duo, Kabo Gofenyamang and Otshepeng Boitshepo tried their luck in 2021.
The pair, who are both 28, only became aware of the scheme thanks to the supermarket’s management, who advertised the opportunity in-house and encouraged staff to apply.
Gofenyamang and Boitshepo did just that, and were rewarded with places at Ravenshaw University in Cuttack, on the east coast of India.
Having successfully completed his two-year Masters Degree in Business Administration, Gofenyamang recently returned to the country, hungry to put all he has learnt into practice.
When he jetted off for Asia, the young man left Choppies as an Assistant Branch Manager in Letlhakane; he returns as a Trainee Regional Manager, an executive management position that includes responsibility of a number of stores.
Telling Voice Money about his ‘incredible’ Indian experience, Gofenyamang said he is keen to pay-back his employer for putting him on this path and plans to use his newly gained knowledge to take Choppies to even greater heights.
“This means a lot to me because I managed to get a great global exposure which improved my skills and knowledge in management. I have realised that you have to look at things on multiple sides being; the perspective of shareholder’s value in business, consumer needs and the employees. So I can just say sometimes you have to have perseverance and patience because that’s the reason why I am here today!” declared an elated Gofenyamang, who joined Choppies in 2017 as a store intern in Mahalapye.
Within a year, he was promoted to the position of Graduate Trainee Manager and posted to Letlhakane. In 2021, the hard-working youth moved further up the career ladder, this time assuming the role of Assistant Branch Manager shortly before his departure for India.
Commending Gofenyamang for his impressive progress, Choppies Group Head of Human Resources, Molatedi Kgotla, described the graduation as ‘a great milestone’.
“It will propel him to greater heights in pursuit of his retail career. I urge all other employees to take a leaf from this achievement and tap into the many training and development opportunities that may come their way within the organisation,” said Kgotla, promising there would be ‘many such opportunities to come’.
Boitshepo, meanwhile, remains in India, where she is left with one-year to complete her Bachelor of Finance course.
In an effort to advance training and development, Choppies paid for the duo’s medical insurance, gave them an P8, 000 grant, as well as close to P7, 900 to cover immediate expenses for RT-PCR tests and quarantine requirements.
They were also given unpaid leave and promised that their jobs would be waiting for them when they returned.
