A young man landed a job at his local railway station thanks to a training scheme which helped kickstart his career. Blake Willmott, from Barnham, was made redundant from his job as a retail assistant during the Covid-19 pandemic. He spent six months looking for a new role before he found a training scheme which gave him on-the-job experience - and now he's encouraging others to follow in his footsteps.
"I haven't looked back since," said Blake, 23, who was recommended for Southern's Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP) through the Jobentre Plus and East Sussex College. The scheme helped Blake gain CV and interview skills along with a placement on the gateline at Barnham station ahead of his job interview at the end of the programme. 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.
He 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.
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