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K College Business Breakfast - The Apprentice takes on New Apprentice
Wednesday, 13 April 2011 08:17
Winner of the BBC’s Apprentice programme 2008, Lee McQueen, launched K Recruit for K College at the Breakfast for Kent 2020 ’11 Conference and Exhibition on Thursday, April 7, by urging businesses to hire apprentices, and revealed that he himself is doing the same.
Six months after setting up his own company, the Raw Talent Academy,
Mr McQueen said he would be using his experience of being an apprentice to give other people a start in business.
At the Breakfast, Mr McQueen, 33, replayed his catchphrase from the competition, “That’s what I’m talking about!’ and tackled a key issue of his appearance on the programme – lying on his CV about his qualifications. He told the audience it was not something he was proud of.
He said: ‘I felt ashamed of my lack of education. If the lie I told had a direct bearing on the job I was going for, it would be different. I’m not proud of lying but I just don’t think a CV on a piece of paper is the best way to assess someone. The programme itself is actually like a long interview.’
‘Being an apprentice – of sorts – myself, I’m definitely pro-apprenticeships! I will be taking on apprentices in my own business. They’re perfect for giving people the chance to get qualifications but also experience, and my business is all about looking for raw talent.’
After winning The Apprentice, Lee McQueen worked for Lord Sugar, and his son Simon in a £100,000 a year job for two years before he gained the confidence to start his own company.
Mr McQueen said that before winning the Apprentice, he had worked for others, but he learned from Lord Sugar how to set up a new company.
Principal of K College, Bill Fearon, said K College is an active employer and trainer of apprentices. He thanked the breakfast audience for joining K College ‘at the crack of dawn’ and told them, ‘coming from Essex, I understand the language of business, and with our new partnership with Essex, Sussex and Medway, I’ll be able to translate those well known terms “guvnor” and “geezer” for you!’
Andrew Forbes, Sales and Marketing Director of K College, told employers that getting young people into work is one of the biggest challenges, and is taken very seriously indeed. ‘K Recruit is able to match your business needs with the best apprentice, by sifting through the thousands of our students and then helping with training them further as they work.’
Mr Forbes added that K Business would make sure the curriculum taught in further education was what employers needed in the workplace.
Jane Burtenshaw of K Recruit said K College is there to help employers find the perfect apprentice for their business. She said: ‘We know the tutors who are working with these young people every day. We know their strengths and weaknesses. It’s not like relying on a CV, as Lee McQueen says, it’s like we’re doing the job of the Apprentice programme for individual businesses!’
Author:K College
Six months after setting up his own company, the Raw Talent Academy,
Mr McQueen said he would be using his experience of being an apprentice to give other people a start in business.
At the Breakfast, Mr McQueen, 33, replayed his catchphrase from the competition, “That’s what I’m talking about!’ and tackled a key issue of his appearance on the programme – lying on his CV about his qualifications. He told the audience it was not something he was proud of.
He said: ‘I felt ashamed of my lack of education. If the lie I told had a direct bearing on the job I was going for, it would be different. I’m not proud of lying but I just don’t think a CV on a piece of paper is the best way to assess someone. The programme itself is actually like a long interview.’
‘Being an apprentice – of sorts – myself, I’m definitely pro-apprenticeships! I will be taking on apprentices in my own business. They’re perfect for giving people the chance to get qualifications but also experience, and my business is all about looking for raw talent.’
After winning The Apprentice, Lee McQueen worked for Lord Sugar, and his son Simon in a £100,000 a year job for two years before he gained the confidence to start his own company.
Mr McQueen said that before winning the Apprentice, he had worked for others, but he learned from Lord Sugar how to set up a new company.
Principal of K College, Bill Fearon, said K College is an active employer and trainer of apprentices. He thanked the breakfast audience for joining K College ‘at the crack of dawn’ and told them, ‘coming from Essex, I understand the language of business, and with our new partnership with Essex, Sussex and Medway, I’ll be able to translate those well known terms “guvnor” and “geezer” for you!’
Andrew Forbes, Sales and Marketing Director of K College, told employers that getting young people into work is one of the biggest challenges, and is taken very seriously indeed. ‘K Recruit is able to match your business needs with the best apprentice, by sifting through the thousands of our students and then helping with training them further as they work.’
Mr Forbes added that K Business would make sure the curriculum taught in further education was what employers needed in the workplace.
Jane Burtenshaw of K Recruit said K College is there to help employers find the perfect apprentice for their business. She said: ‘We know the tutors who are working with these young people every day. We know their strengths and weaknesses. It’s not like relying on a CV, as Lee McQueen says, it’s like we’re doing the job of the Apprentice programme for individual businesses!’