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Perseverance and a good attitude is key

Evany van Wyk



Growing up in the small town of Rehoboth, Chantell Engelbrecht longs for the times she used to play street soccer with her cousins. Since graduating high school in 2007 at M&K High School, Engelbrecht has grown quite a lot in her career journey.

Engelbrecht decided to go and work straight out of high school. Her first job was while she was still in school as a casual. After school, she got a job at Checkers, in the Hidas centre in Windhoek as a cashier. A year after her appointment she got promoted to a front end controller. “It was such a fun challenge for me, as I personally feel I grew a lot during the two months in that position,” said Engelbrect. Within her 4 years at Checkers, Engelbrecht got promoted two more times within the time span of a few months. She got exposed to HR as well as payroll responsibilities

Clearly leaving her mark as she went, Engelbrecht decided to move on to another job at Namibia Farmers Market in a telesales position. There she stayed for about 6 months, but unfortunately the business closed down and she was left jobless. “I was really down on my luck and felt discouraged during that month and a half that I was unemployed,” said Engelbracht. She further said that because she had been working since she left school, lazing around really tested her patience and faith. “Don’t just accept defeat, be willing to do your best despite the setbacks,” she said.

Due to Engelbrecht’s pristine reputation and the fondness her previous employer had for her, he offered to help her in her search for a job. With a memory like an elephant, she remembers the exact day she got the phone call. “It was on 13 August 2013, that I received a call from Namibia Namibian Fresh Produce. They said that they had only heard great thing - things of me and would love to have me in for an interview,” reminisced Engelbrecht. She told Careers how extremely happy and excited the news had made her. After the interview and also an introduction to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Engelbrecht was appointed as a supervisor and also dealt with assisting in sales. She now holds the position of admin manager. Her main responsibility is supervising the day-to-day operations of the administrative department and staff members. “I handle office tasks, such as filing, dealing with customers and suppliers invoicing, cash office and stock taking. It is a challenge, but I never shy away from those,” said Engebrecht.

Driven for her desire to be happy and provide for her children, Engelbrecht decided to apply for the position of admin manager and got the job. “My dream was always to become a business woman and have my own business. Preferably one where karaoke is involved,” she said while smiling from ear to ear. This dedicated mom of two however is happy and content with her job life and loves spending time with her children. “Whenever free time is available, my kids, good series, dancing and adventure is always involved,” said Chantelle. Whenever, she has a chance to help someone, she does it without thinking twice. “I love seeing people succeed after I have helped them. It is such a satisfying feeling,” Engelbrecht said.

Pic1-Cahntell Engelbrecht believes that one should never accept defeat. She is the admin manager at Namibia Fresh Produce.

PHOTO EVANY VAN WYK