SA seemed to quite regret having to fire Debra last night and made a particular point of asking her to keep in touch ... made me wonder if he had something in mind for her in the future ... even in a year or so when she's got more experience and has toned down her personality a bit ...

Just wondering whether SA is 'quietly' allowed to hire fired candidates once all the show fuss has died down or whether he's ever done so in the past? Or would that ruin the idea of the show ...

No idea if he's done it in the past but I can't think of any reason why he shouldn't be able to hire anyone he likes once the prog is over. He's running a business and if someone comes along who's got the skills he needs, then he'd be mad not to employ them. Particularly as he would already have a pretty good idea of their skills and how they might slot into other parts of his company.

I'm sure he keeps a bank of the good ones handy. Saves him time and money should he need someone for a new promotion/product/campaign.

Hasnt he done so in the past? :s

He offered Saira a job when she finished second to Tim in Series 1. If Karren Brady hadn't offered Claire Young a job last year, I'm fairly sure he would have offered her one as well. Once Debra has become a little older, and calmed down her aggression a little more, I'm confident he would offer her a job also.

That's interesting ... I can't decide if it's a fair or unfair thing ... I mean on the one hand if they potentially could all get jobs anyway then it doesn't make the winners victory so much of a victory, but then maybe it makes them more hungry all the way through as they know that potentially if they impress enough they may still get something out of it even if they don't win ...

Nice to know Debra is still in with a chance though although I bet some of them love turning him down at a later date!!

he also offered Kristina a job too

Sugar's businesses employ tens of thousands of people. Currently, two of those have come from The Apprentice (Simon Ambrose and Lee McQueen).

Why would it be unfair to offer jobs to other candidates, who he has come to know personally over a twelve week period, when he's employed thousands of other people who haven't come to him through The Apprentice?

Just because they haven't won a TV show called The Apprentice doesn't mean they shouldn't accept a job with him. Almost all employees of Alan Sugar haven't won a TV show called The Apprentice. Winning that show simply guarantees that you will earn a salary in excess of £100,000 per year, and your job will be safe for a year. Other than that, it's no different to finding one of his companies through a recruitment agency.


Yes he did. But she turned it down to go back to University didn't she? And now she runs a consultancy company with Jenny Celerier.

I suppose it's no different to X-Factor Runners-up getting record deals is it?

Siralun can employ who he wants. However, there is only 1 job with a 6 figure salary - any other job comes out of Siraluns company rather then Talkback.

Also, the time dynamic works against this - everyone except the final 2 have been back in the jobstream for six months; James and Debra are back at their old jobs, and Lorraine is working for the UKs biggest drainage company (!!??)

JJ

only because he got a kick out of her outbursts...but probably more to do with pr .. why on earth would anyone want to employ her .. what does she bring to the table any more than any other applicant?

in fact not any one of them has anything outstanding ..

I agree I don't think it's unfair in the sense that they shouldn't be able to apply for, be offered or accept a job in the future if they are competent candidates and it's no different to him putting an ad in the paper ...

I'm talking in terms of a 'competition' ...there's one prize, one winner and a number of losers ... if in every competition the losers can actually get the same prize as the winner then it makes the competition kind of pointless ... it is as the other poster mentioned like a singer getting a record deal after X Factor or the runner up in Big Brother earning more than the winner, Susan Boyle being more of a winner than Diversity and so on ... maybe it's just an inevitable part of these shows these days ... and the culture we live in ...

But if in all these shows the losers end up with the same deals as the winners, eventually this is going to become such a flaw that there won't be any point in TV compeitions anymore as the prize just won't mean anything.

Because she's obviously very good at her job?

Same deals as the winners?

Debra's already said she'll work for him for a fraction of the six figure salary she would be getting (and which would be paid for by Talkback Television). So the prize obviously isn't the same as it would be for winning the competition.

Whether Sugar actually respects the non-winning candidates more in the long run (because he has to pay their salary from day one rather than only if they continue to work for him once the first year is up) is up for question.

Well yes, this is the thing isn't it ... it depends what you view as the real prize. For me, the salary would be a secondary thing ... the real prize would be working for SA, a foot in the door, the contacts and doors that would open, where you might be in 5 years, the prestige etc .... so Debra saying she'd work for him for a fraction of the prize salary makes perfect sense, for her the real prize is the job itself. In which case being offered any job by SA is the same as winning the actual show!
And yes I agree he probably does value those he hires away from the camera's more than the winner!

I'm not sure that working for Amstrad could be considered a prestige (though admittedly he doesn't own Amstrad anymore). Being known as manufacturers of the worst Sky+ box isn't exactly something to be proud of...

Whether working for Viglen is any more prestigious I don't know. Cheap computers made with cheap components. Not quite IBM is it?

ok maybe 'prestige' isn't the right word But I think its more about what they can gain in terms of making their way in business by working for SA, than just salary.

Sorry, but Siralun does not employ tens of thousands. A hundred might be much closer.
Most are high end though. Nearest we get to low end are the service dept of Viglan. And no doubt they are experienced tecchies.

I wondered that because he made some remark when she left. I can't remember what he said but, it was along the lines of I will see you again I thought.

"Keep in touch."

Thanks Willie Wontie, I thought you were talking to me at first!

Debra was on five live this morning saying she hadn't been in touch with Sir Alan but she had kept in touch with Nick Hewer.....