Lordwick Kgatle has not forgotten the days he rummaged through dustbins looking for any waste that he could exchange for money.
Today he is the Operations Manager at Jubilee Crossing in Hammanskraal and has his education to thank for his career success.
Born in Limpopo, he reared in Hammanskraal, located just outside Tshwane in Gauteng, Kgatle used the money he earned from selling waste products, working as a gardener, barber and car wash assistant to finance his studies towards a Business Administration Diploma specialising in Economics from Richfield Graduate Institute of Technology in 2020.
Following an internship at Atterbury Properties, Kgatle was afforded an excellent opportunity to take on the position of Marketing Manager at Acornhoek Mall owned by New Africa Developments (NAD) in Mpumalanga where he spent 18 months.
During his time at Acornhoek Mall Kgatle’s hard work and dedication was evident to the mall owners, and it was decided to promote the 25-year-old to a more senior role of Operations Manager at the brand-new Jubilee Crossing shopping centre in Hammanskraal.
“NAD has helped my career by providing me with the opportunity to develop new skills. I am thankful for the guidance from the company’s senior executives.
“My work has benefited my life by increasing my standard of living, upgrading my soft and technical skills, bringing a sense of stability and creating other opportunities,” he said.
Kgatle’s typical day is to supervise and manage the shopping centre operations, CSI campaigns, property management, tenant management, customer service and events.
What he finds most gratifying about his job is that there is room for growth, and he is continually able to learn something new about the real estate management industry.
“My greatest strengths are motivation, perseverance and hard work. The lessons learned in my life and career are to never give up when one is tired and to keep pushing oneself to succeed,” Kgatle said.
His long-term goal is to grow within his position and become a national operations manager and ultimately study towards a doctorate in operations management.
Kgatle maintains that education is the key to success and that learning does not stop. He believes it is important to empower people with leadership skills, as this will help achieve local economic growth.
In his leisure time, he enjoys reading, worshipping and watching rugby.
Kgatle is overjoyed to be expecting a baby in the next couple of months, and through his achievements in the workplace, he is very proud of the fact that he will be able to provide his child with opportunities which were not necessarily available to himself.