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The Apprentice <fired-or-hired>

	Week Two	621 dagen geleden
	It's boys versus girls once more as Sir Alan challenges the teams to try their hand in the laundry business. Candidates roll up their sleeves to wring out the profits - but whose career on The Apprentice will end up in a spin? Project managers: Jenny Celerier for Alpha and Raef Bjayou for Renaissance. On to task two, and Sir Alan has set a corking challenge to his prospective employees. A pair of industrial laundry units sit empty, and it's up to our teams to bring in the business, load the laundry, and deliver all goods back to the customers in pristine nick. The team that makes the most money will be the winner, but they're pressed for time. They only have the use of the business premises for one - albeit long - day... The Alpha team appoints sales manager Jenny, "I don't mind putting my neck on the line" Celerier as project manager, while a keen-to-impress Raef leads the boys. "I have no problem with taking this by the, uh... horns," he says. Renaissance find it easy to appoint team members to tasks while Alpha indulge in a sales talk. Jenny is still spouting selling techniques as the men make off with all the ironing equipment in the Apprentice mansion. Ian loves this fiendish plan. "If they don't take the initiative we will. We're gonna smash the girls... simple as that!" Sir Alan has set up some appointments for the teams to pitch for business with key client groups. Hotel manager Scott is dumbstruck at the girls' flat rate of £4.99 per item. With 1000 items to wash, the overall charge would be almost £5000. "Is that your best price?" he asks. Even at £556, the boys raise eyebrows, but Kevin caves on the cost and shakes hands on £200. They're in business! The girls win a different job with a vastly under-estimated quote of £15, but no-one's getting rich quick with this scheme, and the door-to-door sales aren't going much better. The boys have found a niche in the domestic duvet market, but the girls, at least until late in the day, have nothing. As Lucinda remarks, "It's a pickle"! Business begins to pick up in the afternoon, and so does the workload. For the girls' team, Shazia gets to grips with their labelling system and gets to work. The boys surely do have a mountain - mostly made up of dirty hotel sheets and pillowcases - to climb. Simon, Ian, Alex and Lee man the massive sheet pressing machines, and it's a tough task to get everything done before the laundries must close at 2am. It's exhausting work and as Simon remarks, "They don't call it a sweat shop for nothing!" As the workers' SOS appeals for help from the sales team grow louder, Raef, Kevin and Michael are unimpressed. "Pah! I can't stand whingers!" mutters a coffee-swilling Raef. Once reunited, however, all seven Renaissance men knuckle down to get the huge task done. Making good progress, they are in a buoyant mood. Over in the girls' camp, where the sales team have sold late into the evening, a problem becomes apparent. They must vacate the building before the washing is done. Shazia schemes, "We've got to go back before the boys get there to secure the iron." Unfortunately she is the only person who knows the labelling system on the laundry. As Shaz discovers the boys have beaten her to it, her team mates discover they've no idea whose laundry is where! After a confrontation between Jenny and Lucinda, they stuff everything into black sacks so that work can continue at home the next morning. The next day's delivery runs are markedly different; the boys deliver on time and to the customers' satisfaction. The girls, low on cash, deliver mis-matched laundry to grumbling customers... and then cheekily ask for tips. Back in the boardroom, Sir Alan is clear. By raising only £195.55 net profit compared to the boys' £328, the Alpha team have lost the second set task. Sir Alan says the boys have "taken the girls to the cleaners," and they are rewarded with tea at The Ritz. In the final stand-off, project manager Jenny, plus her nominated team-mates Shazia and Lucinda, face the music. Jenny goes all out to save her own skin, screeching "For the entire process it has felt like I have had to breastfeed you both". She alleges Shazia, "lied, complained, manipulated, and didn't deliver", and makes it sound like Lucinda, who had slept in for a 7am meeting, had in fact been asleep for 48 hours! Sir Alan has heard enough. Although there are "very good reasons for all of you to be fired," one person's crimes have been "the most heinous". Someone has "left colleagues with difficulties in identifying the product". He points his finger for utmost effect and even as his intended victim begs for his mercy, he says the fateful words... "Shazia... you're fired".
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	First Task!	622 dagen geleden
	The teams are each given a van filled with fish worth £600 wholesale. Boys take on girls in the quest to find the perfect market pitch and offload the seafood at the best possible price. There's gotta be a few squid in this... Project Managers: Claire Young for Alpha and Alex Wotherspoon for Renaissance. There's precious little time for the contestants to settle in at The Apprentice series 4. As soon as Sir Alan has made his introductory speech, the nervous hopefuls are split into two teams and whisked off to a shady kerbside, where each team takes ownership of a consignment of fish. The boys take ages to name their group Renaissance "as in changing, rebirth…", and by the time their decision is made, the girls' team has not only chosen the moniker Alpha "because it's the first letter of the Greek alphabet, and looks a wee bit like a fish" - but hot-footed it to the premier market pitch in London's Islington Market. When the boys show up ninety minutes later, the girls' selling is well under way (although Sir Alan later suggested their early tactic of getting customers to name their own price was neither bright nor right)! While all eight ladies surrounded their stall and squabbled periodically, much to Claire's consternation, the reluctant but capable man-manager Alex divvied up tasks amongst his crew. Simon and Lee used their patter to attract the punters with ease but unfortunately entrepreneur Raef, charged with identifying the fish, incorrectly labelled three boxes and barrister Nicholas, appointed chief price-fixer, charged only £4.90 per lobster instead of £4.90 per pound of lobster, resulting in up to a £10 loss per crustation unit. The boys' profits were soon feeling the pinch. As the deadline drew near, both teams upped the ante, sending additional crack sales teams out into the streets. The girls' plan - to sell business to business - saw them offload the last of the stock by persuading upmarket restaurants to make their menus more fishy. The boys also sold business to business... but with just moments to spare, they somehow ended up in the local jewellers, and finally in a solicitors office, where Michael's 'executive' decision saw them flog £130 worth of fish for £50. Back in the boardroom, Sir Alan was unimpressed. Although the Alpha team had made £153.98 of profit, he told project manager Claire, "I know if I was to speak to a professional fishmonger he would kill himself laughing. But a win is a win..." But as the rapidly disintegrating boys team only managed to get £32.69 into the black the girls were declared the winners of the first task, allowing the delighted Alpha team to travel to their luxurious accommodation where a delicious treat was in store, prepared by chef Jean Christophe Novelli. And after a serious dressing down from Sir Alan, three of the men - the indignant project manager Alex, plus the somewhat petulant Raef and Nicholas, returned to the boardroom the next morning; the first to fight for series 4 survival. Raef and Nicholas insisted the team's poor showing was due to a serious rift in team relations. "The barrier that has been drawn is like educated against... gritty salesmen", Nicholas asserted. Taking 'gritty salesmen' to mean uneducated, Alex was gob-smacked. "I am educated!" he countered. "Well, I'm not suggesting you're not... I'm just guessing", floundered the public school barrister, before perhaps nailing his fate by telling former Spurs chairman Sir Alan, "I am very into culture and art. I find it very difficult to have conversations about... football." And an incredulous Sir Alan quickly booted him out the competition. "You were devastated when you got a B in your GCSE French, you are going to be even more devastated now because you got a big F. You're fired…!" Nicholas de Lacy-Brown was the first contender to leave the competition. "I've been made a scapegoat", the barrister said in his defence.
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	Where Are They Now?	629 dagen geleden
	Sir Alan may have fired them, but Series 3's unsuccessful applicants are now well on the way to winning in the real-life business world... Although winner Simon Ambrose secured the coveted role as apprentice to Sir Alan Sugar, the show provided many of the contestants with a springboard to rewarding and lucrative careers. Here's what last year's applicants are up to now... Ghazal Asif Ghazal Asif has just been headhunted to overlook new business in the UK for an IT services company. With fingers in many pies, she is now a master practitioner of neuro linguistic programming, has done modelling and will launch a clothing line, www.ghazalscouture.com, very soon. Tre Azam Essex-based Tre Azam continues to run his marketing and consultancy company, IDMM. He loves to talk for his living and is involved with charities including the Silverstar Diabetes charity. He's just become a father for the second time, and writes a guest column for this site. Gerri Blackwood Gerri has taken up the role as Business Development Manager at Hyder Consulting, a transport consultancy agency. She also has several entrepreneurial projects on the go - including the launch of Igloo; a dome tent structure suitable for client hospitality and exhibitions, and Epor, a patented product for yachts. Paul Callaghan After the show, Paul continued in his role as a building surveyor for a large London firm. He's kept busy studying for an APC qualification and also an MSc one a day a week. He is in the Territorial Army, a skydive display team, and supports charities including the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. Ifti Chaudhry After the apprentice, Ifti opened up Eclipse Tiles (named after his team on the show), in Ealing, which has been a success. A second store, in South London, is on the way. He has his own tiling firm and is also an accomplished kitchen and bathroom designer. Kristina Grimes After receiving 140 job offers post The Apprentice final, Kristina became Investment Sales Director at Dandara Ltd, Property Developers. She is making her mark in the media, where she's completed a business show pilot for Ireland's RTE, and is in talks about a motivational book, as well as a movie about her life story. Katie Hopkins Katie joined the Met Office after The Apprentice but was soon back making appearances on TV and across the wider media. This included 2007's I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. She's appeared on TV panel shows, written a newspaper column, and contributed to a programme on working mums for BBC Five Live. Adam Hosker Adam Hosker joined The Apprentice with many years in car sales behind him. Receiving many job offers when the series ended, he accepted a position as Sales Director Designate for IT Team Solutions. He also launched a website offering advice on maximising profits on car sales. Andy Jackson Andy has been busy offering his motivational words at dinner events and on local radio business bulletins. He's appeared on poker tours, runs the nutspoker.com North Of Scotland branch, and has just launched a poker training company. He's also planning a book on consumer rights. Jadine Johnson The former banker set up a debt management company after leaving the apprentice but has since moved on. Always one to spot a money-making opportunity, she continues to combine her working life with raising her daughter. Sophie Kain Dr. Sophie Kain is running her own internet business entitled www.toastandtrash.com which is a review site for anything from pashminas to local plumbers. She is also launching her second venture www.secondglances.co.uk later in this year, which allows people to find the person they've flirted with on a train, or in a club. Lohit Kalburgi Lohit is now a management consultant for a telecommunications company leading on multi-million pound projects. He has started his own online boutique men's fashion company, www.pash-fash.com, and has been involved in various community projects including Make Your Mark, and Barnardos. Rory Laing Rory is putting the finishing touches to his London Zeppelin project. He is finalising sponsorship for his venture which provides a month of pleasure flights in a Zeppelin airship above London in July. Tickets go on sale soon. Rory lives in London, and recently applied to join the Territorial Army at Officer level. Naomi Lay Since leaving The Apprentice, Naomi has set up her own company, Naomi Lay Consultancy, which offers advice on using the internet for business, advertising, brand building, and more. She continues to work as a motivational speaker, but finds time work with young people mentoring them to follow their ambitions. Natalie Wood Natalie made the conscious decision to remain at home with her sons until they are in full-time schooling. She works as a consultant/business developer for Assured Risks Ltd, and appears on BBC Essex and BBC Asia, where she’s done football match reports. She's been invited to join the Board of The Princes Trust, Essex Region
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