This year Glasgow Audi has been delighted to be able to host a number of talented school pupils during their work experience week. In his own words, read all about Scott Bruce's time with us. Scott, who is 15, attends Mearns Castle High School in Glasgow.
I had a great time at Glasgow Audi, meeting many different people and learning new skills along the way. Before I arrived I was completely unaware of what a working environment was like but now, after my week of being here, I have a very good understanding of each department and what it takes to run a business.
The dealership is a state-of the-art facility at Braehead which is a few miles from home. As my parents were both working I had to learn how to make my own way to work as I cannot drive - yet! I learned to become more independent whilst doing this and made sure I was at work on time every morning.
On my first day I received a really warm welcome by members of staff and this continued throughout the week – everyone was so friendly and said ‘hi’ even if I was just passing them in the corridor.
Every day I tried something new. While in the workshop for instance I was welcomed and taken through a short health and safety program and then put to work on a health check of the car with one of the apprentices. At the end of the day I felt comfortable performing a health check and a service on a car thanks to the helpful training I had received.
It was really very useful to understand how many functions are involved in running a business like this and I was fortunate enough to be able to spend some time with them all. These included Retail Support, Sales, Aftersales and Digital Marketing.
Whenever I was waiting for my next task I would always be able to have a conversation with, undoubtedly the coolest man in the building, Stuart Alexander who made me feel more comfortable in the workplace.
My favourite part of the week was the driving experience in the spectacular performance cars, however the members of staff in every team went out of their way to ensure that I not only learnt as much as possible, but that I also and enjoyed it too.
An added benefit was that I got to see some incredible cars too! The R8, RS6 and RS7 which are not only nice to look at, they are incredibly powerful and in the RS6’s case very practical for a standard out and about drive.
Karen Reville from People Development tutored me on how to put together a CV which I was unable to do before I came here. This will be very useful in future I’m sure!
I also had my first experience of a meeting which involved the head of many departments which was interesting because I got to see how people say their opinions and compromise if there is a problem.
The canteen food was very nice and the room was very clean to eat in. On the last day as a treat Gordon Campbell from Digital Marketing was kind enough to pick me up my favourite meal from McDonalds – a McChicken Sandwich meal and strawberry milkshake!
As an S4 student at high school I have no idea of what I want to be when I’m older but now after being treated so nicely and meeting all the very friendly members of staff and learning all the fascinating processes each department has to go through to ensure the smooth running of the business, I would not hesitate to apply to work at Glasgow Audi when I am older.
