1Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Stevenson's,
2one of the country's major manufacturers of metal goods.
3Thank you for choosing us for your two weeks of work experience.
4My name is Julia Simmons,
5and since the beginning of this year I've been the managing director.
6Stevenson's is quite an old company.
7Like me, the founder, Ronald Stevenson, went into the steel industry when he left school,
8that was in 1923.
9He set up this company when he finished his apprenticeship, in 1926,
10although he actually started making plans two years earlier, in 1924.
11He was a very determined young man!
12Stevenson's long-term plan was to manufacture components for the machine tools industry,
13although in fact that never came about,
14and for the automotive industry, that is, cars and lorries.
15However, there was a delay of five years before that happened,
16because shortly before the company went into production,
17Stevenson was given the opportunity to make goods for hospitals
18and other players in the healthcare industry,
19so that's what we did for the first five years.
20Over the years, we've expanded the premises considerably,
21we were lucky that the site is big enough,
22so moving to a new location has never been necessary.
23However, the layout is far from ideal for modern machinery and production methods,
24so we intend to carry out major refurbishment of this site over the next five years.
25I'd better give you some idea of what you'll be doing during your two weeks with us,
26so you know what to expect.
27Most mornings you'll have a presentation from one of the managers,
28to learn about their department, starting this morning with research and development.
29And you'll all spend some time in each department,
30observing what's going on and talking to people,
31as long as you don't stop them from doing their work altogether!
32In the past, a teacher from your school has come in at the end of each week
33to find out how the group were getting on,
34but your school isn't able to arrange that this year.
35OK, now I'll briefly help you to orientate yourselves around the site.
36As you can see, we're in the reception area,
37which we try to make attractive and welcoming to visitors.
38There's a corridor running left from here,
39and if you go along that,
40the door facing you at the end is the entrance to the coffee room.
41This looks out onto the main road on one side, and some trees on the other,
42and that'll be where you meet each morning.
43The factory is the very big room on the far side of the site.
44Next to it is the warehouse,
45which can be accessed by lorries going up the road to the turning area at the end.
46You can get to the warehouse by crossing to the far side of the courtyard,
47and then the door is on your right.
48Somewhere you'll be keen to find is the staff canteen.
49This is right next to reception.
50I can confidently say that the food's very good,
51but the view isn't.
52The windows on one side look onto a corridor and courtyard,
53which aren't very attractive at all,
54and on the other onto the access road, which isn't much better.
55You'll be using the meeting room quite often,
56and you'll find it by walking along the corridor to the left of the courtyard,
57and continuing along it to the end.
58The meeting room is the last one on the right,
59and I'm afraid there's no natural daylight in the room.
60Then you'll need to know where some of the offices are.
61The human resources department is at the front of this building,
62so you head to the left along the corridor from reception,
63and it's the second room you come to.
64It looks out onto the main road.
65And finally, the boardroom, where you'll be meeting sometimes.
66That has quite a pleasant view, as it looks out onto the trees.
67Go along the corridor past the courtyard, right to the end.
68The boardroom is on the left, next to the factory.
69OK, now are there any questions...