From playing metal to moving metal – meet Alan McFarland, one of our most recent graduates from the Rookie Academy. Alan- our very own guitar hero- hadn’t tried his hand in the motor trade before joining Peter Vardy.

Give him an axe and throw him on stage in front of thousands of fans and he’d feel right at home, but sitting down with a guest one-on-one and talking through the finer points of a Hire Purchase deal was a little more daunting to him. As part of the Rookie Academy, he and our other CarStore rookie recruits began their new career even before the CarStore opened back in October 2013 with a team building exercise with all of the new recruits. From there, Alan embarked on the Rookie Academy experience with Alistair Nelson showing him the ropes. This involved visits to the various sites such as Vauxhall Edinburgh, where he learned how to be fully FSA compliant as well as learning the full Peter Vardy sales process. Not only this, but to learn more about the overall outlook of the company, Alan also worked for a week in a charity shop in Kirkcaldy to fully embrace the “giving back” culture. After the Academy, Alan joined the rest of the team for the grand opening of the CarStore on the 9th December 2013 where he was taken under the wing of an experienced Sales Controller and Mentor. After a period shadowing his mentor and learning the stock inside out, he was then entrusted to look after guests all by himself, even selling a Ford Focus on his first day let off the leash! “Overall it was a great experience – from my initial visit to the Recruitment day, I was sold on the company and its values. Working in the charity shop was a very rewarding experience, and Alistair Nelson was an inspiration to us all. Top bloke! I would strongly recommend the Peter Vardy Rookie Academy to anybody looking to start out in the motor trade – accept no substitutes!” If you would like to find out more details, take a look at: http://www.petervardy.com/rookie-academy/