Jason Norris’ Blog

I always knew that my time as the Apprentice would come to an end, and that I would have to hand over the role to someone else.  That time is not quite upon me as yet, but we have chosen the person who will be taking on the challenge of being Birmingham Future’s Graduate Apprentice. 

Interviews were held on Friday 13th June, which could have been an omen, but I’m pleased to say that we had five fantastic candidates at the interview stage, a great representation of the Graduate talent that is currently available in the UK.  I was invited to form part of the presentation panel, along with some fellow members of the GIE Committee, where we asked each candidate to present to us on a topic that they felt strongly about.  Their range of topics chosen was varied and fantastic, and on more than one occasion the three of us on the panel allowed the presentations to slip slightly over the alloted three minutes so that we could hear more!

Following the presentation, we had a few questions just to get an idea of what drives each individual, and make our minds up as to how they would perform as the Apprentice 2008.  After this, we sent the five prospective Apprentice’s into the lions den, or the employers as we like to call them.  Here they were grilled in depth about their previous experience, their weaknesses and their ambitions… all those questions that someone fresh out of University hates!

But I am delighted to confirm that our chosen candidate impressed all on the day, and has since accepted the role for the coming year.  I am sure that you are going to hear a lot more about Mayur as his time comes around, and I hope that together we drive the scheme forward, continuing to show young professionals that Birmingham is the place to be.  

As an aside, it was a great learning experience to be part of my first interview panel, and I did learn a lot on the day about what it can be like.  I am sure that at some point during my coming work career, I will again be interviewed, and perhaps interview others, so its great to start building these skills early.  The Graduate Apprentice is all about building an impressive skill set to be able to succeed in any professional services role, and that is certainly what it has been to me.  I look forward to handing the baton to Mayur, who I am sure is going to do a fantastic job.