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SURE APPRENTICE FNALISTS GO HEAD TO HEAD

By IsleOfManAdmin on Thursday, March 26, 2009
Filed Under: Charity, Community, Isle of Man

Isle News, 26 March 2009 – Two students have been set the challenge of raising as much money as possible for a local charity, in the final of the Manx version of The Apprentice, which has been organised by Sure.

Aaron Kelly and Robyn Sayers are the finalists in a contest that has involved teams of students from Ballakermeen High School over the course of the current academic year. The successful pair were members of Excelsior, the winning team from the heat rounds of the competition. The third team member, Tom Brookes, was eliminated from the contest after being interviewed by Ruth Badger, a finalist in the BBC television show ‘The Apprentice’ featuring Sir Alan Sugar.

Chief Executive of Cable and Wireless in the Isle of Man, Simon Last-Sutton, has played the ‘Sir Alan’ role in the Sure Apprentice, with fellow judges Geoff Corkish MBE MHK and journalist Joanne Clague helping to find the winning team.

Simon said: ‘It’s been a fascinating few months and we’ve been impressed by the way all the students took the contest to heart. The tasks to date have included inventing a mobile device for the future and carrying out market research on the youth market, but this task is slightly different. Aaron and Robyn are going to be organising a genuine charity event with funds going to Wish Upon A Dream which is a charity Sure has been actively supporting for the last year – so the pressure really is on.’

Sure is giving each finalist £500 to organise their own event. They are being asked to be as creative as possible; this final task will be scored on managing a budget, leading a team and the amount of money that is raised for charity. The prize is an apprenticeship this summer with Sure.

Simon Last-Sutton said: ‘We decided to support the relatively new charity ‘Wish Upon A Dream’ because of the effort that is made to grant wishes to children and young people living on the Island who suffer from serious or life-limiting illness. The Sure Apprentice has been a very interesting experience for all involved, and I’m particularly pleased that an Isle of Man charity will be benefiting from it.

‘Sure is also extremely grateful to Ruth Badger for the part she has played in this competition, and to the Isle of Man Junior Chamber of Commerce for allowing her to take part in the Sure Apprentice.’

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Sure began its own version of the BBC TV show ‘The Apprentice’ in October 2008. By June 2009, one talented teenager from Ballakermeen High School in Douglas will have won themselves the opportunity to work for Sure this summer.

To win that opportunity they must first successfully complete a series of tasks which include marketing, product design and organising a charity event:

Task one – (December 2008) – Customer Satisfaction & market research
Expert – Pauline McGee, People Matters
Task two – (February 2009) – Marketing
Expert – Terry van Rhyn – Ashgrove Marketing
Task three – (March 2009) – Product Design
Expert – James Hewitt and Gary Harrison – Sure
Task four – (April/May 2009) – Organising and hosting a charity event
Expert – Lesley Turnbull – Wish Upon A Dream

All competitors who have taken part in the Sure Apprentice are either 16 or 17 years old, and in their first year of A-Levels at Ballakermeen High School.

The competition is being judged by Simon Last-Sutton, Commercial Director of Cable and Wireless (Sir Alan Sugar), Douglas West MHK and political member for the Department of Tourism and Leisure, Geoff Corkish (Nick Hewer), and freelance journalist and writer, Joanne Clague (Margaret Mountford).

Coverage of ‘The Sure Apprentice’ will be available to watch on YouTube soon. You can find out more about the competition by logging onto www.surecw.com/apprentice.

About Cable & Wireless and Sure

Cable & Wireless International is one of the world’s leading communication companies operating in 33 countries including the Caribbean, Panama, Macau, Monaco, the Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Bermuda.

In the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, Cable & Wireless is investing over £40m to revolutionise communications and deliver a new generation of services through Sure, an innovative and exciting new brand.

Sure is leading the introduction of choice for customers supported by an ongoing commitment to quality, value and customer care in all areas of service. Our offering includes mobile, broadband and fixed line services for consumers as well as advanced internet, hosting, security and international services for business customers. Customers get more when they choose Sure.

Customers get more when they choose Sure. For further information about Sure, go to: www.surecw.com.

For further information:

Jess Bisson
Communications Co-ordinator – CI & IoM
(01481) 757552

Merita Taylor
Ashgrove Marketing
(01624) 645395

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