Shepherd Macothoza started as a petrol attendant and with dedication and hard work he is now the co-owner of the Engen he started out at.
Shepherd Macothoza started out at the Blouberg Motor’s Engen as a Petrol Attendant. He faced unbelievable odds as a young boy, even losing his birth certificate during a riot in the 1980’s. A few years later he applied for a new one and the date on his birth certificate was incorrect, essentially making him 5 years younger than he is.
“We moved around a lot when I was young, Site C in Khayelitsha was a site of struggle when I was young and my parents were both uneducated. I attended a host of schools, including some in the Eastern Cape, but once I had matriculated, I began working at Engen Blouberg on a casual basis. It was a relief to get full-time employment as a pump attendant. In those days the day shift was eleven hours long and the night shift, thirteen. But I knew – because my salary was essential to the survival of my extended family – that I needed to improve myself and so I enrolled at Impact College and studied short courses in Productivity, Supervision and Stock Keeping between 2000 and 2003.”
It wasn’t long before Etienne Bester and John Lloyd, the owners of Blouberg Motors, saw his drive to better himself. They trained him in multiple disciplines including Cashier training, Merchandising and Stock Control. In 2010 he was chosen to attend Engen’s PRSP programme at the Edgemead Training Centre which taught him how to run a dealership and grow a business.
In 2014 Shepherd followed his dreams and enrolled to study Operations Management at UCT. Shepherd was also offered a partnership with the owners of Blouberg Motors.
“I have grown up in a culture that looks after its own. And so, establishing a foundation for my children and looking after my mother and my niece at the same time always had its struggles and challenges. Finally, I could experience the thrill and rewards of breaking the barriers I had faced through my life.”
Shepherd has advise for anyone who is in the same shoes as he was,
“The work is draining and many people look down on you. But, people are also watching you: so, do your work as if today is your last day, give your all to everything you do and you’ll discover that hard work pays off.”
Joe Mahlo, General Manager: Engen Sales and Marketing says,
“Shepherd Macothoza has proved that commitment to self-improvement, dedication to each discipline and task – along with humility – provide the essential ingredients to a recipe for success and for changing the trajectory of his family for generations to come. He epitomises what we want to achieve in our business. He has a wealth of retail experience and is a source of hope and beacon of transformation within the industry.”
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