8:15 am, May 8, 2014
VERTU Motors has shown its commitment to helping graduates into management positions as its first graduate trainee has passed his training period with flying colours.
Business and economics graduate Andrew Wilson (pictured) has become the first person to complete the Vertu Motors graduate trainee scheme and become a full-time, permanent service manager at Bristol Street Motors Lichfield, which is part of Vertu Motors, the UK’s sixth largest motor retail company.
The news comes as the latest figures show that the proportion of recent graduates working in a non-graduate job had risen to 47 per cent, a sharp rise from 39 per cent, the same figure before the financial downturn struck the UK.
Wilson, a graduate of Liverpool John Moores University, has undergone a rigorous three-year training programme with Vertu and the company is putting him through a masters’ degree in Strategic Automotive Dealership Management at Loughborough University, which he is studying for while working full time at the dealership.
During his training, he has undergone a comprehensive programme including working across all departments at five different dealerships and spending three months at Vertu’s head office in Gateshead, Tyneside.
Wilson said: ‘It’s been a massive amount of hard work and a very steep learning curve, but a hugely rewarding experience. Vertu’s graduate programme is extremely comprehensive, well-structured and designed to test and challenge graduates. I’ve always had an interest in cars so as soon as I saw the graduate scheme advertised, I knew it was the right role for me.’
Matthew Barr, human resources director at Vertu Motors, said: ‘Andrew is the perfect example of the type of person we are looking for in a management trainee. He has the qualities we like to see in all of our colleagues – a proactive attitude, drive, ambition, energy, enthusiasm and most of all, talent. He has proved himself across all different departments and been a great new addition to the team.’
