For 19 aspiring CEOs from Christel House School, FutureMe’s Learning Journey meant a crash course in corporate culture courtesy of Hub Insights and Mercedes Benz.

Their day began at Hub Insights, a state-of-the-art facility that conducts market research and business-to-business engagements on behalf of corporate clients. Co-owner Venetia Amato immersed our learners in her company’s day-to-day operations before sharing her personal career journey.  Did you know that researchers use one-way mirrors to glean valuable business insights from body language?

Besides consumer research, Hub Insights exposed students to a range of exciting career opportunities in project management, industrial psychology, recruiting, moderating, data capturing, transcribing, and reporting.

“I did learn a lot about my passion for business and economics when I visited ‘The Hub’. I realised that I can actually carry out my passion for those subjects by becoming a Market Researcher. I definitely benefited from this journey as to see how big and great the world of work actually is.” ∼ Aneeqa, Grade 10

Next, learners boarded a bus to the Mercedes Benz Head Office in Century City, where they were greeted by Supergroup’s dynamic SDF & Training Manager, Heidi van der Spuy. Unbeknown to us, Ms Heidi had planned a bells-and-whistles tour of Merc’s entire operation (worksheets and activities included)!

My day was so interesting and exciting. I was happy. I enjoyed the Mercedes Benz S-Class that was driving on its own and I learnt a lot. The person that was interesting or inspiring was Heidi and Logan.” ∼ Mihlali, Grade 10

From Marketing, Sales, and Accounting to Parts, Workshop, and Customer Delivery, students soon found themselves captivated by passionate people from every corner of the dealership. Ms Bianca gave students the low-down on branding, while Mr Logan demonstrated how much charm it takes to sell a R2.5-million automobile!

“Today was fun and exciting. I learnt a lot about the corporate world and the car industry especially. I was inspired by how beautiful the art of sales and persuasion can be. I am definitely more motivated today.” ∼ Zarah, Grade 10

Easy-going Mr Warren spoke about the roles and responsibilities of a financial department, and Mr Blessing’s passion for maintaining a spotless fleet taught students that a fulfilling career is simply a frame of mind. To round off her whirlwind learning experience, Heidi invited learners into the boardroom for an executive Q&A session with the dealership’s HODs!

“I think from today onwards I want a part-time job in Finance and Auditing in order to know more about my career field. It was a pleasure for me to be selected in this career journey for my future.” ∼ Tholokele, Grade 10

Sincere thanks to all the inspirational people we met at Hub Insights and Mercedes Benz. Your time and expertise meant the world to our learners.