Being an entrepreneur – as any business owner knows – is tough work, but Brits feel taking part in The Apprentice would be a breeze, with 41 per cent of people claiming they’d win the programme.
Research carried out by money-saving website VoucherCodesPro surveyed 1,892 people in the UK for their views on this year’s candidates and the results indicated they weren’t particularly impressed.
More than half thought they’d reach the final against the current crop of candidates (60 per cent), compared to just seven per cent who admitted they’d be fired by Lord Sugar in week one.
The main reasons given for the UK public’s confidence were that the tasks were simple and straightforward (32 per cent) and that they thought they were more intelligent than previous winners (27 per cent).
Business experience came into play for just under a quarter as the reason for their self-belief, while 14 per cent said quite simply they were just highly intelligent. Some also thought Alan Sugar has become something of a soft touch, with eight per cent claiming he was “too easy” on contestants compared to previous series.
Nearly three-quarters of respondents admitted to being unimpressed with the calibre of current candidates, with 28 per cent going so far as to say they thought the contestants were the worst quality ever seen on the TV programme.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom however – a fifth said they felt the candidates were of a good standard.
When it came to predicting the winner of the current show, 28 per cent thought Brett Butler-Smythe would be the last man standing, with Joseph Valente the second pick with 14 per cent.
Tensions between the frontrunner and fellow contestant Scott Saunders have been such that there was a bust up between them in the house – sparked over a TV remote.
Saunders said: “This was a tiff between two mates and it was all over in seconds. Myself and Brett are very good friends.”
Selina Waterman-Smith, another contestant who was involved in an altercation with a housemate – Charleine Wain – and received an official warning for it, was the third favourite to win the programme. David Stevenson and Richard Woods rounded off the top five.
Entrepreneur Jason Stockwood recently criticised The Apprentice for painting an unrealistic and unflattering picture of business leaders, saying it emphasised candidates’ negative qualities rather than empowering them.
He said the programme was a “classic soap opera” but also warned that it was a “parody of real business”, with nothing to show in the way of a sound recruitment process.
“The candidates here aren’t the business leaders of the future – they’re sociopaths in M&S suits,” he added.
Image: BBC
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