Kliptown retail graduates inspire community

Two Kliptown residents have defied the odds and turned challenges into success by becoming part of the management team at one of South Africa’s biggest Discount Supermarkets.

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For Lee Ann Maskew (28) and Siphiwe Ncube (28), the idea of managing a popular supermarket may have seemed quite a challenge to think about growing up in Soweto.

“I come from a big family of five children. I worked in a few places, as an EPWP volunteer at Masibambisane and I also worked at a Stocktaking company while I studied and improved my computing skills at Karabo Yasechaba,” explained Ncube.

For him, growing up in Kliptown had its fair share of obstacles to overcome. “I was doing a generic management learnership before joining Boxer. I was living on a stipend and it was not good enough to support myself and my family back home,” he said.

“Even though I was working before I joined Boxer, I was working as a casual, which is not easy as a parent wanting to take care of your children’s needs holistically, while trying to make a living and getting by,” added Maskew.

This changed by chance when she walked past Boxer Kliptown and saw an advert for an assistant Manager position at the store.

“I applied and was called for an interview a month or so later. I got the job and spent the next few weeks doing the in-store training programme, learning about the various skills needed in retail. I was later transferred to Boxer Baracity where I have continued to grow, learn and lead,” added Maskew.

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For Ncube, the journey to Boxer also began with a visit to the store. After seven months of training, Ncube was inducted as the new Assistant Manager of Boxer Kliptown, helping run the busy store and serve hundreds of shoppers monthly.

“This in-store training programme really gave me more opportunities to become something for myself. My ultimate goal is to become a General Manager at Boxer,” added Ncube.

“Although my life has had challenges and I have had to face a number of difficult situations, the Boxer Training programme has really helped me and I have improved my self-esteem and thinking. It showed me that I can be someone great and I must believe in myself,” concluded Maskew.

Both Maskew and Ncube work as Assistant Managers at Boxer Superstores Baracity and Boxer Superstores Kliptown respectively, and have goals to grow further within the retail space.