» Business and finance
TonyTony studied for an HND in Business and Finance and then decided to turn it into a degree. When he graduated he decided that he definitely did not want to do a traditional nine to five office job but wanted something more 'youthful and invigorating'. While at college he had had part-time jobs that were very customer service orientated, such as working in a DIY store and in a restaurant, and this had given him some valuable experience. He found the management training scheme of a bingo club in a local newspaper and after two successful interviews in the chain's national training centre he became a trainee manager. He was placed in a club in Manchester with a manager who was known to be good at training new staff and started his training scheme which lasted for six months. The training scheme involved him working in every department of the club in order to learn how a bingo club functions. This included learning about book sales, bars, diners, and fruit machines. He also had a go at managing each of the departments. Another important part of his training was looking at the bigger picture and learning about licensing laws, gambling laws, and the finance department. This also included a trip to the local court in order to gain his gaming licence. Tony found that one of the most enjoyable aspects of his training were the six outbound training courses, which took place at the chain's national training centre. Each of these focused on a different aspect of managing a bingo club. They also gave him the chance to meet up with fellow trainee managers and compare experiences. After completing his training, Tony qualified by sitting a written and verbal test about all the activities which take place in a bingo club. He was then posted as an assistant manager in another club in Manchester and is now the manager of his own club. He has found the whole experience very enjoyable except for the relatively small salary and the long and unsociable hours, which can sometimes be from early morning to late at night. Tony's advice for anyone who wants to become a bingo club manager is to 'be flexible in your approach, and proactive. You have to go out and learn things for yourself or you will not succeed. You also have to remember that the job is incredibly customer focused, which can come as a surprise to some people'. » Business studies
MichaelMichael worked in a surveyor's office for a year after leaving school with A-levels in maths and computer studies. He then went on to do an HND in business studies and as he had already had work experience, decided not to do a sandwich year. While deciding whether to progress to a degree course he took an administrative job in his local council's environmental health department, where he came into contact with environmental health, trading standards and consumer rights advice. The council for which he works has a drop-in consumer advice centre where local people can come with any complaints about goods and services. Many of the complaints he deals with concern building work, fitted kitchens, conservatories, etc and he says this is an area where people really need help because they have often spent a great deal of money and are either really angry or very upset about what has happened to them. As a consumer rights adviser he is not responsible for taking complaints to the police or the courts, but he is able to get the ball rolling for this type of action. He says that 'sometimes it amazing what simply writing the right letter to the right person can achieve', though he added that this was by no means always the case and sometimes advisers are left infuriated at some of the cases they have to deal with. | 
