Welcome back to another week of our Schools Plus Interview series – Who do you think we are?
In this weekly series members of the Schools Plus team will be asked a series of questions about them and their job here at Schools Plus. We thought this would be a great way to find out more about our staff. There is a huge array of jobs and people within the company and every interview will be totally different. You will get an insight into their day to day life, their time before working here and a bit more about the team.
Who are you?
That’s a very deep way to start! I’m Steve Shooter.
What is your role at Schools Plus?
I’m a Venue Manager.
As Schools Plus is all over the country where are you based?
Primarily in York, managing Millthorpe, All Saints and York High Schools, but I am also responsible for our schools further north, Ingleby Manor near Middlesbrough and Whitburn Academy near Sunderland.
How long have you worked for Schools Plus?
I feel like a veteran at approx two and a half years now.
What did you do before you worked at Schools Plus?
I’ve had various roles over the years, but the most notable I suppose were being an English teacher briefly in my 20’s, several retail roles and I’ve been part of the management team for two different cinemas. I also worked for York City Council as the lead on the ‘World Famous’ St. Nicholas’ Fayre Christmas market and was part of the team who managed the Tour De France went it passed through York.
What is your favourite part about working for Schools Plus?
That depends what day you ask me. I like the interaction with customers and school staff, coordinating interesting bookings to bring varying community projects through my schools.
Can you describe a typical working day for you?
Again, it depends what day it is. Most days feature an early morning sweep of my emails, dealing with those issues that arise, I tend to break my day up, if I know I have to be at school in the afternoon/evening I take a bit of a midmorning break, maybe watch a movie or do some housework. At the moment I am at Millthorpe most days because of massive building work going on, so I check in with the school Site Manager to head off any problems, catch up with my staff or greet customers if I’m working the shift or clearing exam desks during the summer term.
What do you think the future holds for Schools Plus?
I think that very much depends, we are in an interesting time of change so if we can keep our focus on being different to the competition, and providing the personal service we are good at, then the future is bright.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
With what little spare time I have, I’m a big wrestling fan, my wife and I love going to the cinema, I run stand up comedy gigs and recently acted as producer for a feature film. Mostly though, I can be found getting under my wife’s feet, and hopefully prepping for a barbecue.
You are a crayon in the box what colour would you be and why?
I don’t know, is there an awkward colour which is an acquired taste? Probably one of the odd colours, like Cerise, or Cyan, those ones which are hard to describe.
Finally, what is your favourite song and why?
It very much depends on the day, if we are talking all time favourite it would be ‘Everybody Needs Somebody’ from the Blues Brothers, because it is a perfect song, danceable, great for singing along to, the saxophone is beautiful and it comes from my favourite film. Although currently I’m listening to Doc Brown’s album ‘Stemma’ a lot, perfect for clearing exam halls!
Come back next week for another Schools Plus interview.