From college graduate to key worker at Milngavie M&S

The City of Glasgow College business graduate and former Douglas Academy pupil is based at his local food-only store in Milngavie.

He is responsible for store opening and closing, receipt of deliveries, stock management and replenishment of stock on the sales floor.

Since the spread of Coronavirus and the current lockdown Andrew is now part of an essential frontline service and has seen his job evolve.

Andrew, whose twin brother Ross also works at the same store and is studying mechanical engineering at Strathclyde University, said: “My core role is more or less the same but the workload has changed. We have more deliveries to deal with than usual as a response to shoppers initially panic buying.

“We are cleaning the store, trollies and baskets much more frequently to help slow the spread of the virus, and ensure the safety of customers and staff. And we now monitor entry and exit doors to ensure only a limited and safe number of customers are in the store at any one time.”

After the lockdown measures had been in effect for a week or so, Andrew noticed the panic buying starting to slow and customer behaviour begin to change as shoppers respected the social distancing and protective measures.

“We see more and more customers coming in with masks and gloves, some even wearing WW2 style gas masks. And they are very cautious when interacting with me now,” said Andrew.

“Despite the situation though, most of our customers are very upbeat and enjoy sharing stories, albeit from a distance. People seem to enjoy a chat and having someone to talk to when waiting to enter the store. I think it helps bring some sort of normality to the current situation.”

On top of his job with M&S, the HND business graduate is busy studying for a BA (Hons) in Risk Management at Glasgow Caledonian University.

“I graduated from the college in November and really enjoyed my time there. It’s prepared me very well for university and I have the amazing teaching staff and their support to thank for that. Going to college first was a smoother transition as I didn’t feel ready to go to university straight from school.

“My plan for the future is to get a good degree, then a graduate position in the risk management sector and work my way up the corporate ladder. Further on I hope to own my own business and be successful in whatever career path I go on to take.”

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