Richard Lennox case study
SK Chase
SK Chase is an Edinburgh-based online gift voucher company providing luxury hotels, resorts, golf courses and spas with an online gift voucher application. The company enables its clients to sell gift vouchers - for gifts that can range from champagne dinners to family stays, spa treatments and luxury items - through their own websites, and provides a voucher fulfilment and 24 hour dispatch service.
SK Chase had identified a range of significant software development requirements which would enhance the existing service provided to clients and provide features that would help the company secure new, larger and more profitable clients.
Richard Lennox
Through Graduates for Business, the company accessed Heriot-Watt University computing graduate, Richard Lennox, to undertake this crucial software development project.
Richard had to get on board with the company quickly and within a month or so of taking up the position, was already improving the SK Chase system for their existing customers. Since then he has been continually upgrading the system and seeing the results of his efforts constantly gives him great job satisfaction.
...within a few weeks I was invited to an interview and they helped me into my chosen career.
As Richard notes, getting in touch with Graduates for Business, was the right move: “Having decided to take some time off to travel after leaving university with a strong degree, I found it extremely difficult to find employment in my chosen field. Despite many interviews and numerous other applications, I found that it was always a lack of industry experience that let me down. On applying for the Graduates for Business, I didn’t hold out much hope, but within a few weeks I was invited to an interview and they helped me into my chosen career. Finding a position like the one I'm in, that provides the opportunity to have a massive impact on a successful company, wouldn't have been possible without the help and support offered by the program. If you're struggling to find work after university, this is an extremely effective way to get your foot in the industry door.”
For SK Chase, the programme has led to real business benefits. As Kate Taylor, Managing Director, noted: “I really felt that the team at Graduates for Business cared about our business and finding the right individual for us. It was such a smooth process. Six months into the project Richard has significantly contributed to the success of our business. Not only has his work resulted in improvements to our existing customers’ experience of using our service, but it has resulted in us securing new clients, which, without the work he has conducted, wouldn't have been possible. This has impacted on our bottom line. We'll be offering Richard a permanent position and I'll definitely be using the programme again.”