A typical working day
Today, for instance, we had a group from South London. Prior to their visit I would have spoken directly or through email with the teacher who’s arranging the visit, to find out what she actually wants from us. She said that the students were Year 10s doing GCSE Business Studies. I asked her specifically what she’d like me to talk about during the 6 minute session and she told me that they’d just finished studying marketing so a revision period based on marketing and market research would be useful.
What qualifications and skills do you need?
I think one of the attributes needed in our job is the ability to be flexible. If a school is running an hour late we might say that they can stay an hour longer, if they’re able to, so that we can still fit everything in, or we might combine them with another group. You need good presentation skills, and obviously you need good management skills. And, above all, you need to make sure that you’re up to speed with changes in the curriculum and what the educational sector requires from us.
What do you like about your job?
I want some of those kids to go away and get an extra grade – from a B to an A, or a C to a B, or whatever. And the correspondence we receive from many teachers is very favourable. We don’t just deal with them as they come to Cadbury World – we provide after-care as well. We don’t just leave them in the lurch. If they come back and ask us to provide extra information to help particular students or the whole class, we would do our utmost to do it. So that’s really motivating.
What is your career plan?
I call myself a local historian. I’m a brummy, I’m passionate, I love the place. So maybe in the future years I could be an official spokesperson for the business.
Why this company?
I just wanted to work for a company that was recognised, not only in Birmingham, the West Midlands or nationally, but globally. And one that has got a fantastic heritage. I like the way Cadbury set down the foundation stones of what we now call corporate social responsibility.