At
QVM we should be proud of the grounding we have given to a number of successful
business people.
There
are many stories within our market of young aspiring business people who
started as stall packers or shop assistants and went on to very successful
careers.
At
a recent social event we heard the story of a young student stall packer who
displayed great working qualities and didn’t surprise his boss when he ended up
as a partner at Price Cooper Waterhouse in New York.
Or
the stall assistant who completed his business degree in Melbourne and went on
to become Head of Finance at a large Asian company.
Many
of those students, now successful business people, have maintained contact with
their trader bosses. You don’t forget your roots.
Then
of course there are those who made the ultimate leap and became Market Traders.
Photographer, Tony Pierrakos, used to sell hammocks at our market. Ninh, trader
of helicopters and other fascinating models, used to work for one of our
knitwear traders and a leather jacket trader.
Queen
Victoria Market teaches young business prospects how to be street wise, how to
converse with a huge variety of different cultures and personalities, how to
develop selling and financial skills that may be absent in the normal
classroom, and gives them exposure across the full range of business activities
and responsibilities, albeit at a micro level.
And
then there is the social confidence gained from exposure to raw Aussie trader
banter - the jokes, the jibes, the ribbing, and the genuine human respect that
underlies much of that activity. A young person who survives everything the Queen
Victoria Market throws up has a good grounding for the harshness of the outside
business world.
Of
course this is not one way. Many of these successful business people showed
their worth early - hard working, willing to take on a variety of tasks,
respectful to others, and quick to learn. These are dream qualities for market
workers and highly sought after by traders.
It
could be said that the contribution of young business people, and the things
they learn at QVM, add to the rich worth of our great market.