After completing Grade 12, Tshenelo Masebe (25) from Pretoria struggled to find a job so in March 2020 he enrolled in Shoprite’s Retail Readiness programme.

He was working as a merchandiser, but regional manager Fulufhelo Radzilani immediately recognised Masebe’s potential and recommended him for the Trainee Manager programme.

“I knew from the beginning that if I wanted to succeed within the company, I had to push myself. I’m proud to say that hard work and determination got me to where I am today,” says Masebe.

The Shoprite Group is South Africa’s largest private sector employer with over 140 000 employees, excluding indirect employment. Despite the effect of the lockdown and unrest on retail trade, the Group still managed to create 4 608 new jobs in South Africa in the past financial year.

Over the past five years, the Group has spent more than R700 million on extensive retail skills and training programmes, including the Retail Readiness programme, arguably the largest skills development initiative undertaken by a South African retailer. About 65% of its employees are youth (under the age of 35).

Read more about how the Shoprite Group continues to invest in creating jobs and providing thousands of young people with retail skills into 2022.