Fact is: Learnerships create sustainable business and personal transformation – here is the proof. Read this true story of Kofi Boafoh, hassle free learnership implementation and how it led to true results.
From Masters in Biochemistry to Learner to MSL in 2 years, with 2 rep of the quarter awards and 2 Encore awards, we are honored to introduce – Kofi Boafoh
Having been an academic in the field of Science, Kofi found starting his first corporate job rather daunting. However, he soon learnt that a great way of getting into corporate life was through a learnership program.
In June 2020, having successfully completed his learnership at Acino Pharma (Acino) and Diverse Conversations Covid was rampant, and he had to deal with the stress of not being able to find work. ‘I kept on praying and after 3 months I got a call from Acino Pharma to say that there was a position available, and I was successful in my application.’ As Kofi completed the learnership at Acino Pharma he did not need much guidance as he was ready to add true value to his new role as medical rep. After a month, Kofi progressed and was offered a permanent position in Acino Pharma as sales rep, managing the consumer healthcare portfolio in Central Pretoria.
From rep to 4th place rep of the quarter and then first place as rep of the quarter and now being promoted to MSL
“Considering my background, I wanted to be back in science, and it was so exciting that I could go into that position”, Kofi says. “I could not believe it and at the same time I thought perhaps my qualification and hard work was paying off.”
Two Encore awards
Kofi has received 2 Encore awards in this last year (2021). It is awarded as a reflection of someone achieving and performing optimally.
- His first Encore award was for going the extra mile with the vaccine drive that Acino Pharma had.
- The second was for the excellent cross functional collaboration between the medical and sales teams.
He states, “I felt so good as my performance was recognized. It inspires me still today to do even more.”
When we had asked Kofi what stood out about the learnership:
- He said that he was pleased that the program was not only based around sales and commercial roles but focuses on the Science as well. “In a pharma company you need to understand the Science behind things,” he says.
- Kofi also enjoyed the Diverse Conversations Presentation skills program and found it valuable because in his current role, he has to train people and found that even though he had learnt about it before, doing the program helped to sharpen his skills.
- Kofi finds value in understanding the different personality types and how to communicate with them. By understanding the Social Styles, he learnt to profile his customers and tailor make his message to them, by being flexible and not treating everyone the same.
What made me successful was to work hard and work SMART. Be sure of what you want and bring your A-game in class and in the field with senior colleagues every day,” Kofi says, “Never say ‘this is just a learnership program’ and wait for something to happen. Go out there and work hard.” He urges students to treat a learnership as a great opportunity, grab it with both hands and understand that the opportunity does not come to everyone. “I treated it as my first step into the industry,” he says, “so, in short – everyday bring your A-game – see it as a long-term opportunity – aspire to have a permanent position.”
“I encourage companies to do more learnerships as it bridges the gap between graduate finishing university and corporate environment,” he says. He lists the benefits that the employees gain from completing learnerships below:
- The learners learn the culture of the company,
- They gain work experience and
- Companies help the government to reduce the unemployment rate that we have in our country.
So, you as the company might ask ‘what’s in it for me?’
- When you train a learner in a learnership – the cost to the company is less because the trained learner goes through the different positions unlike poaching someone who comes with a higher cost.
- Learners tend to learn and understand the company culture – a new person still needs to learn. The learner has already eased into the new role – it saves a lot of time during on-boarding. The time between being employed and contributing optimally is much shorter.
“Acino pharma is a great place to be,” Kofi says, “company culture is great and you never stuck because people are always willing to teach.” Besides the tremendous growth of the company Kofi feels that he is also growing with the company. “I am so grateful for having been afforded this opportunity,” he says, “my plan is to keep on performing stronger and every day I want to continue to contribute optimally.”
Kofi ends with “I’ve been growing ongoingly all because of the wonderful company culture at Acino Pharma and everything I’ve learnt through the joint program between Diverse Conversations and Acino Pharma.” To find out more about how Diverse Conversations can help you with your sustainable business growth click here