Meet Jonathan Gerson, born and raised in the notorious coloured township of Eldorado Park, based in a suburb of Soweto. This is just the beginning of Jonathan’s story.

Jonathan’s life has the influence of football. Growing up, he played soccer in his youth and idolised players like Eric Cantona and David Beckham from his favourite football team, Manchester United F.C. Nowadays, during work hours, he calculates risks while kicking around numbers at Signa Group.

“Being part of the finance team, I manage all finance-related queries – reconciling accounts, preparing invoices, analysing financial data, and reporting to the finance manager. I grew from learning fundamental accounting principles and slowly worked my way up from there. Today, I am part of helping learners achieve their goals by ensuring they receive their stipends”.

As Jonathan went through life, as he puts it, “I just followed my JD (job description) without much meaning or purpose. I lost my job when the company I worked for burnt down and started hairdressing at home until I decided to search for a job online. That’s when I found Signa Group and decided to explore the opportunity”.  

Jonathan began a learnership through Signa Academy…and this was his turning point. He wasn’t on his way to becoming Jason Statham. He was on the way to becoming the Prince of Eldos!

During his training and work placement, Signa Group recognised his talent and offered him a permanent employment contract. “Compared to my previous working history, there wasn’t the foundation and principles that guided my role via values, mission, and vision as we have here at Signa. This serves me today in my personal life”.

“Today, I get to be part of the empowerment of youth. I am one pillar in my team, and our collective efforts mean that learners rely on us to meet the requirements and process their stipends on time so that they can complete their learnership while Signa Group continues to achieve its vision: Preparing Africa for a Working Future”.

Jonathan’s proudest moment at Signa Group? “What! I am going to end up on TV for Kyknet Whoohoo! I did my first video shoot for Signa Group speaking fluent Afrikaans”.

The most memorable day of his life? “The first time I took my father’s very old bakkie – a South African and Dutch informal term for a pickup truck. I waited for that special moment to take it for a spin while the family was on an outing. I took it out of the driveway with a big smile. I returned and parked it exactly where it was, only slightly skewed :-D”.

Jonathan’s advice to anyone, inspired by his late dad, is, “Never give up, keep on going, and don’t look back. If life throws a stone at you, throw it back at life”.