Published: Monday, 11th February, 2008 4:30pm

Adrenaline rush

by Elaine Grundy

LOGGED ON: David McKenzie beat hundreds of Inverclyde pupils to land one of seven £18,000-a-year jobs through The Recruit project and is now thoroughly enjoying working with Hewlett Packard.

FORMER Greenock Academy pupil David McKenzie dreams of running his own business - but for now he is gaining valuable experience as a commercial assistant with Hewlett Packard in Erskine. David, who lives in Greenock, won his year-long job through the The Recruit project, which promised to turn seven Inverclyde school pupils into the business leaders of the future. All seven winners received an £18,000-a-year job with a local firm. ELAINE BOWERS met David to find out how he was getting on...

SINCE winning The Recruit, life has been transformed for teenager David McKenzie.

He has gone straight from being depute head boy at Greenock Academy to a plum job in industry - and is relishing the challenge.

He said: 'I work as a commercial assistant with Hewlett Packard in Erskine, which means I look at many business areas and provide on-going support.'

Six months have passed since David, 17, was offered an £18,000 contract with HP after beating off stiff competition from school pupils all over Inverclyde.

Just 36 youngsters were selected for The Recruit"s intensive programme, with each being required to take part in a series of business challenges designed to test their ability to work on their own initiative and as part of a team.

David"s determination to succeed paid off and he was crowned a winner at the black- tie dinner in Greenock Town Hall in August that marked the end of The Recruit 2007.

David said: 'My favourite Recruit memory was that moment of suspense at the final night. It was such an adrenaline rush to know I had won a job - something I will never forget for the rest of my life.

'I have to say I enjoyed all of The Recruit. There wasn"t a point where I didn"t want to take part, or wanted to give up. The final night, though, was excruciating, waiting for the results, but it was a great feeling when my name was announced - like that build- up was all worth it.'

Now settled in his new role, David is relishing the challenges each day brings.

He said: 'One of the highlights has been meeting so many new people and getting that sense of equality you don"t quite get in school. It"s also an easier environment - you can make mistakes and people will lend you a hand. Unlike the pass or fail system of school, this is a continuous process of steady improvement.

'I originally thought the job would be very static and maintain the same tasks every day but, in reality, the job is very dynamic with new tasks most weeks.'

One of the toughest challenges David has had to overcome has been just getting to work.

He said: 'Living in Greenock and travelling to Erskine was something I was quite worried about when I first started.

'Due to my age, I was unable to drive and the train and bus every morning would probably end up costing a good bit of money. Luckily, with some help, I was able to sort out a lift and can now make my way up easily most days.'

While each day brings fresh challenges, the format would appear to be pretty routine, with David describing a typical day as simply: 'Badge in, log on, invent, log off, badge out, drive off.'

David is saving his hard-earned cash to buy a car, which is something he hopes to do when he passes his test. Other than that, his wages so far have gone on a few DVDs and books and some good Christmas presents for family and friends.

Having settled into his job, David is also making sure he still has time to catch up with his old pals.

He said: 'My social life has changed quite a lot. When I first started, my social life dried up, but now I meet up with old friends and new friends most weekends.

'Now the exams are coming up my older friends are busy, but I can"t hold that against them. '

Had David not won The Recruit, he reckons he would have stayed on at school to study advanced computing with a view to going into the technology industry.

Like most of the seven winning Recruits, he has found early morning starts difficult to get used to. He said: 'At my age, I"m used to the late nights but it does catch up on you, so I have changed to going to bed early.'

Working at Hewlett Packard has also resulted in David having a somewhat unusual pet. He said: 'I"m now the proud adoptive parent of a polar bear. I entered an environmental competition at work and won a polar bear adoption for my contribution.'

Although he still has another six months to go with HP, David is already looking to the future. He said: 'I like to think I would be kept on here, but I do have a back-up plan. My ultimate career goal is to own my own business. I have a lot of respect for great businessmen like Richard Branson and Donald Trump.'

Away from work, David is an avid sports fan and plays for the West Coast Trojans, an American football team. He said: 'Football is my favourite sport. Right now, I"m taking a break from the academic side of life. In the coming year, I intend on doing either a business course or possibly breaking into sports with a qualification in coaching.

David is also in training for a 10k race. He said: 'For the third year running I will take part in the men"s health forum 10k race. It"s on Father"s Day and I will be running with my dad again.

'Last year was disappointing, as I will admit to not putting enough effort into my training for the race.

'Since I started working in HP, I use the gym and track as much as possible and hope to do the race in a respectable time. I will, of course, wait for the old man. I can"t drive yet!'

•APPLICATIONS are now being sought for entrants to The Recruit 2008. Entry forms have been provided to all schools by organiser Robert Lamb, who dreamed up the initiative which is loosely based on the popular TV series, The Apprentice.

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