PEOPLE WHO WENT TO TOP SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES HAVE A CLEAR ADVANTAGE IN THE CORPORATE WORLD

Memory Nguwi shared an article on LinkedIn this week about hiring people from elite colleges, it reminded me of my career journey. After I completed A’Level in 1995, I didn’t make into any Bachelor of Sciences degree programs at the University of Zimbabwe(UZ) when my peers enrolled in early 1996. It was time to look for work. I always knew that students from top private schools and top former group A (model C)schools had an advantage in the career field. For example to become a Chartered Accountant there were two routes. Graduate with an Honours Accounting degree at UZ and then sign a 3 year articles training contract with one of the big 5 Accounting firms. Those from top schools would be able with low grades to sign a 5 year contract straight after high school then enroll for a BCompt degree with Unisa. Around 1996 when I was working as a temporary teacher I was visiting my aunt Mrs Maposa in Sunningdale, Harare I met Lloyd my former school mate from Marondera High School where we had been both day scholars. Lloyd like myself had gone to township schools up to O’Level. He had gone to Rakodzi High School and I went to Nyameni Secondary School. In 1994 when we both enrolled for A’Level there were only two formal schools that offered A’Level within the town of Marondera namely Nagle House a Catholic run high school for girls and Marondera High School that accommodated both girls and boys. Tragically I heard Lloyd succumbed to cancer in his early 20s. During the colonial era, Marondera highschool had been a whites only school but now it was open to all of us. Like all group A schools students at Marondera High School spoke with a private school accents, we called them maNose as they spoke like the British. Lloyd invited me to his home in Sunningdale and I could see he was doing very well, he was already married whilst many of us were still looking for a career. Lloyd was working as a shop manager for one of the well established fast food franchises in Zimbabwe. He told me he was earning around $3 600 per month, then as a temporary teacher I earned $2 000.00. He organised an interview for me and he assisted me with the preparations. He told me they were looking for candidates who went to group A schools. English was not my strength worse my accent as I spoke English the same way I spoke Shona. Even at O’Level at Nyameni Secondary school the three of us who where in top three we got distinctions in many subjects but we all only managed a C in English. I went for the interview at Hurudza house. The recruiter for the company was asking me about my high school years eg which sports I participated etc. I knew I did not fit and it was not surprising I was not recruited. At that time Shearwater also advertised attractive positions in Victoria Falls and they required you to be a swimmer, who swims? Eventually I got my break and I joined Eagle Insurance Company end of 1997. I became friends with Tonderai Masvosva who was working at Sedgwick Insurance Broker. Tonderai would become my best man at my wedding. Tonderai had grown up in Mufakose in the township like myself but he had gone to one of the top schools in Zimbabwe, St Georges College for boys. Tonderai invited me to join Round Table and in the group I connected with many of his former school mates. In the group I found confident young men who had each other’s back. Those young men treated each other like family despite the difference in tribe, race etc. Very few of them had university degrees but they were doing very well and were already managers. Louis who stayed close to me in Avondale had just came back from America and he helped his family to run large Supermarket Chains in Harare. During the tense period of land reform we mingled across racial barriers in the surbubs as well as on the farms along Domboshava road. In business networking is key, people who went to these top schools knows the value of networking whereas us from township schools view each other as competition. In 2003 after I passed my Associateship exams I was a junior manager at Zimbabwe Insurance Brokers and my ambition was to be appointed as a broking manager. I got a call from Tonderai to inform me that they were looking for an Underwriting Manager at Zimnat Lion Insurance company then the second biggest Insurance company in Zimbabwe and then listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. I laughed at Tonderai when he insisted that I apply as I considered myself not remotely qualified for such a senior position. I reluctantly applied and was interviewed by my future boss the late Willard Madanha who was the AGM and I would be his deputy. Mrs Lynn Mukonoweshuro our then Human Resources Director was part of the interview panel. The craziest thing happened, I got the job. My boss Willard was so impressed with my knowledge of insurance I just think people who work in claims know Insurance subject the most because everyday we have to ask is this covered? When Willard became Bulawayo branch manager he would ask me to sign off some of his big insurance quotations. I had seasoned insurance professionals to guide me namely my new AGM the legendary AZ Shoko and the MD Carlson Chiswo as well as our main reinsurers from Zimre Reinsurance namely Tarupiwa Tarupiwa and his boss Mufaro Chairuka. Whenever I got stuck I would pass by Mr Oscar Matingo at his office next to my biggest client Aon Zimbabwe in Borrowdale. Mr Matingo had handled most of those biggest accounts for years and so it made sense to go and get his advice. In management meetings it was clear who went to private school. People generally listen to the good English speakers and that is a fact. After the meeting I would joke with Manu Chikwanda our engineer about the big words that came out from the meeting from our peers who went to group A schools words such as “dovetail". When I came to South Africa in 2007 I was employed in the call centre imagine speaking English for 8 hours a day Eish. Many years later a client told me to slow down as I was speaking English like a white man. I am worried maybe I have now been converted from township English to Model C school English. We should help to prepare children in the township and rural schools the same way model C school kids are taught. In meetings they are not scared to speak and they are mostly confident and equipped for the corporate world.