“MY TIME AT SBFI HAS BEEN TRULY INSPIRATIONAL AND HAS REAFFIRMED MY AMBITION TO STUDY BUSINESS”
Business studies college student Aleksandra Figat was introduced to the world of business during a week at SBFI Group. She talks about her experience below…
Firstly, I’d like to thank the SBFI Group team for their warmth and kindness throughout my work experience. I always felt welcomed and supported whilst being immersed in this fast paced business workforce.
On the first day of my work experience week, I was greeted by Andrew (Head of Design), who made me feel very welcome, which helped calm my conflicting feelings of nervousness and excitement. Later on I was greeted by the rest of the office team in Newhaven, Sussex. Everyone was very welcoming and had no problem taking the time showing me what they do. Sitting down with the different departments was enlightening as I learned about the different roles and how they are vital in the day to day running of the business.
Jennifer, the Global Marketing Manager, was an absolute star. She gave me my induction and would continue to supervise me throughout the rest of the week. Spending most of my time with Jennifer allowed me to take a closer look into marketing, which made me realise that this is an interesting part of the business and something I want to learn more about. Jennifer gave me some exciting work to do and gave me free reign to design some material. By the end of day one, I had a good view of the complex procedures that SBFI Group marketing team undertakes in order to create an awareness which improves their recognition in the competitive market.
The most exciting day was my trip to London where I visited the new SBFI showroom. It was fascinating seeing the showroom designs on the computer to then walking in and seeing that everything looked exactly the same. I met more team members in London who were all very warm and welcoming. I also visited the Excel to attend The Facilities show. This was my first visit to the Excel and I was shocked by its size and how many businesses were there in the same place. I enjoyed walking around and even got some nice freebies. SBFI Group were collaborating at the facilities show with a company called Flokk. Their stand was impressive with amazing products that seemed to attract lots of attention.
Back in the office I got my first experience of using a VR headset which was lots of fun and amazing to see how it can be used to help marketing and sales. I also got the opportunity to be involved in a meeting where I realised how much discussion and communication is needed for a new project to be put into place.
My time at SBFI has been truly inspirational and has reaffirmed my ambition to study business. I am extremely grateful to all the staff who made my time here so incredible and always accommodated me despite their busy workloads. Overall, I am leaving SBFI feeling motivated to work hard and hopefully become a business woman so that I can work at a diverse and hardworking company like SBFI!
By Aleksandra Figat – Work Experience at SBFI Group.
