Talitha Joy Schiller – Store Manager

-5Talitha recently won the South Australian Hardware Industry Trainee of the Year award.

She began employment with Marshall's Hardware five years ago, after finishing Year 12. Initially Talitha was looking for a part-time job before continuing with study in interior design and decoration, which had been her chosen career path for the previous three years.  She applied for a few jobs around town, before hearing that Brenton Marshall was looking to possibly hire someone at a trainee level at Marshall's Thrifty-Link Hardware.

She quickly saw that the job would enable her to develop skills and gain valuable qualifications, as many departments in a hardware store have links to interior decoration and design, such as paint and timber.  Soon after getting the job, she enrolled into a full time Certificate II traineeship in retail studies at Tafe SA. 

Then completed Certificate IV in Retail Management through Tafe SA and has been working closely with the store team to put the skills into practice, such as financial planning, managing a team and customer service skills. Through the training, she has learned more about the industry, continuing to build a career in it. 

Loves the industry and is continuous challenged and stimulated. 

Her enthusiasm has been driven partly by the store owner, Brenton Marshall. He is always willing to pass on his knowledge and experiences to staff, encouraging the team to learn about the products they sell and their applications, and to build strong relationships with customers.

Working in a hardware store in a small town gives her the opportunity to develop relationships with the local community.

Five years into her career, she still surprises herself at how much she enjoys it. In 10 years, she aims managing her own store, but whatever she does, she guarantees she'll still be in the hardware industry, and still loving it.