Natalie is one of the family

Elaine Grundy Elaine Bowers - 1635 • Published 13 Feb 2008 16:30 0 Comments

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NATALIE Kerr will never forget the grand finale of The Recruit, when she won an £18,000-a-year job with Blairs of Greenock.

After spending her summer holidays competing against teenagers from all around Inverclyde in a series of business challenges, Natalie was awarded her prestigious year-long contract during a gala dinner in Greenock Town Hall.

Now, instead of the 9am start she was used to as a pupil at Greenock High, the trainee accountant has to be at her desk from 8.15am.

Not that she is complaining about having to get up early. Natalie said: 'My job has exceeded my expectations by far. I always thought an accounting job would be boring when I was younger.

'It is anything but boring. I work from around 8.15am until 5pm, and my job involves doing tasks such as a manufacturing report and processing glass invoices. It varies from day to day, which I really like.'

Natalie"s prize job came with an £18,000 salary - around £5,000 more than the average school-leaver could expect.

Having her own money has made a big difference to Natalie"s life, helping her broaden her horizons.

She told the Tele: 'My first wage was spent on flying out to Germany to visit family when I had time off in October - and clothes, of course.'

Christmas presents wiped out another chunk of her cash and she is now saving to go to America in September.

Natalie, who lives in Wemyss Bay, and lists meeting new people as one of the highlights of her job so far, added: 'Blairs is a big family-orientated company and that"s what I love about it.

'From the moment I stepped into Blairs, my colleagues have been nothing but supportive, and all of them were very interested in The Recruit programme.'

The memories of taking part in The Recruit will stay with Natalie for a long time.

Like all of the other 35 teenagers who won places on the programme, Natalie had to take part in a series of business-related challenges that tested

her ability to use her own initiative and to work as part of a team. She said: 'My favourite test wouldave to be the Spymasters challenge - a James Bond-style mission round Glasgow which was great fun, but at the same time showed exactly what is needed in a job - teamwork.'

However, Natalie was not so enthusiastic about one aspect of an outward-bound challenge. She said: 'My least favourite moment was being dunked in muck and horse dung at Auchengillan.

'There was the scenario of trying to solve crossing a bog with tyres and planks of wood, but most of us ended up in the bog.'

The grand finale of The Recruit gave Natalie a "real sense of achievement", but she admits she very nearly didn"t enter.

She said: 'I wasn"t going to go in for it because I thought my chances were very slim. Five months later, my opinion had completely changed.

'Who else would get to meet millionaires like Charan Gill and Norma Corlett and be presented to massive companies like IBM and T-Mobile?

'Not only did I gain friends and have fantastic opportunities, I also had the chance to learn about business acumen. I would have regretted it if I had not gone in for the programme.' John Torley, managing director of door and window specialists Blairs, is delighted with Natalie"s progress. He described her as "very professional" and added: 'We think we have won out of The Recruit.'

Since starting her job, Natalie has gone on to complete courses in business law and financial management. She is now working on a course with the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers.

In her spare time, Natalie is learning more Turkish and German and attending two hip hop classes, She is also a leader at two youth clubs in Inverkip.

Robert Lamb, the enterprise development officer who was the brains behind The Recruit, which is loosely based on the TV show The Apprentice, is now seeking applications for The Recruit 2008.

The closing date for entries is 28 February and further details are available in all of the local high schools.

Not surprisingly, Natalie is keen to encourage everyone who is eligible to take part to get their entry in.

She said: 'Don"t think of The Recruit as being too much hard work, think of it as a challenge and don"t forget the enjoyment side to it. You have so many amazing opportunities which you wouldn"t ordinarily have in the real world. It quite literally had a lasting effect on my life.

'My deepest thanks go to everyone involved in it, from the speakers, to the businesses, to the staff at the enterprise centre and, finally, to Robert Lamb, without whom I wouldn"t have had this job.

'The Recruit gave me an entirely different perspective on work, the business world and life in general.

'So, if you"re considering entering for The recruit fill in your application form now. You won"t regret it.'

This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 13 Feb 08

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