ESC Training Scheme Lands Dream Job

East Sussex College has helped many young people kickstart their careers with pre-employment courses, including Blake Willimott from Barnham.

Blake lost his job as a retail assistant during the Covid-19 pandemic and spent six months looking for new work. His luck changed when he joined a training scheme that gave him hands-on experience, leading to a job at his local railway station.

Blake, 23, was recommended for Southern's Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP) by Jobcentre Plus and East Sussex College. This employability programme made a big difference for him. It taught Blake how to improve his CV and interview skills and gave him a placement on the gateline at Barnham station, which helped him prepare for his job interview at the end of the course.

"I haven't looked back since," Blake said. He now encourages others to take advantage of these training schemes, showing how East Sussex College can help set you on the right path for your future.

He said, “I put my best foot forward and haven’t looked back since. The SWAP was great because the teachers at East Sussex College helped me create a standout CV and I learnt some fantastic interview tips.

"During my placement at Barnham station, I was on the gateline helping passengers with their tickets and queries. I loved every minute of it and my customer service skills really improved in those three weeks.”

Blake's managers were so impressed that he was offered a full-time job on the ticket gates after the interview.

He started working in January 2021 and after a year helping passengers at Barnham he applied for another role dispatching trains from the platform. Now he is encouraging more young people to consider a career on the railway following World Youth Skills Day on Monday.

Blake said, “I love helping hundreds of customers with their journeys every day and there’s always something new to learn at Southern, so I couldn’t recommend the railway enough to young people. If it wasn’t for the SWAP scheme, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today. It really helped me gain that vital experience, so I’d recommend it to anyone who’s looking to kickstart their career in rail.”

If you’d like to follow in Blake’s footsteps, please click here to find Pre-Employment courses on offer at East Sussex College.