A 16 year old former Cults Academy pupil has secured a job at the UK’s largest bus and rail operator after impressing bosses in an Apprentice style business competition called, ‘The Recruit’, organised by Enterprise North East Trust (ENET).
Although Murphy Keir did not win the top prize of The Recruit, he was the stand-out candidate when he and nine other school leavers took part in a business challenge at FirstGroup as part of the competition.
He impressed senior figures at First’s headquarters in Aberdeen so much that when a vacancy arose within its Learning and Development department, Murphy was invited to apply.
He began his new role as NVQ Administrator last week dealing with the day to day running of educational programmes for First’s employees. Although based at First’s King Street headquarters, this week Murphy enjoyed a trip to Manchester to meet some of his new colleagues.
Linda Guthrie, FirstGroup’s Head of Learning and Development UK said: “The quality of candidates at ‘The Recruit’ initiative was very high, but Murphy clearly stood out when the competition visited First. When we heard that he hadn’t won, we invited him to apply for a position within our department and again despite some outstanding candidates, Murphy was a clear choice. It’s great to have him on board – his enthusiasm, confidence and attention to detail have impressed us all so far.”
Murphy left Cults Academy in October 2010 and said he benefitted hugely from the skills he picked up during the challenge: “Taking part in ‘The Recruit’ was the best thing I have ever done. I learned a lot, and it has led to a fantastic opportunity with First. I never expected to land my first job with a company of this scale and it’s brilliant to see how the whole operation works from the inside, in particular on the Learning and Development side.”
He continued: “The position I hold is allowing me to gain some really valuable experience. I’m dealing with people across many levels of the business and getting the opportunity to travel and meet some of them face to face.”
Gary McEwan, Chief Executive of Enterprise North East Trust said: “We are very appreciative of the support FirstGroup gave us during the project and it is extremely encouraging to see the company is committed to investing in the talents of young people. ‘The Recruit’ was not only about rewarding one candidate with a 12 month work contract, but about developing the skills and prospects of all 10 candidates. We can see through Murphy’s success that we are achieving that aim.”
The winner of The Recruit was Colton Bilsborrow. His prize was a 12 month, work contract as an intern with Enterprise.
For more information about The Recruit contact Julie McNeil at Enterprise on 01224 289799 or email [email protected]. For further information on Enterprise visit www.enetrust.com.
Photo caption:Murphy Keir poses in front of a First coach