Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Ferry firm gives girls tour
Two schoolgirls have been given a first-hand insight into the contribution of women in the workplace.
Olivia Furness and Eimear Ruane , both 13, visited P&O Ferries at Dover after they were assigned to research the topic.
The Year 9 pupils, from Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar School in Canterbury, will record their experience in a journal during the half-term holiday.
The girls, who live in Canterbury, spent a day being given a tour of the Port of Dover and being introduced to health and safety requirements onboard ships.
They also met the team from the company’s buying and merchandising department.
The highlight was an interview with one of the most senior female employees in P&O Ferries, operations and business transformation director Sue Mackenzie.
Olivia said: “I asked Sue about her education and what advice she would give her 14-year-old self.”
Her answer was “Work hard to achieve your results, work now to get where you want to be – it is good to fail sometimes in order to learn how to succeed”.
Eimear said: “The most enjoyable part of the day was our tour of the port. We wore bright orange safety clothing, went into the booths which process the passengers and saw how the whole operation works.”
Jacqueline Burns, P&O corporate communications officer, said: “Local schoolchildren are potentially our future employees and we are very happy to tell them more about the services which P&O Ferries provides and the jobs which we offer.”
P&O Ferries has a stakeholder project offering visits to local schools, colleges and businesses to give youngsters an insight into the ferry industry.