Three jobseekers have found a new career at Nexus thanks to a workplace training programme. The Sector Work Academy Programme (SWAP) has created new opportunities for the trio, providing them with customer service roles on the Tyne and Wear Metro.
Matthew Desire, Bill Iredale and Josh Hall completed the programme and secured the roles following successful job interviews. There was a strong pool of candidates, with a field of 13 people vying for the roles on the Metro.
Nexus are working alongside the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Job Centre Plus (JCP) and a well-established local independent training provider – the South Shields based Zenith Training – to offer a bespoke SWAP programme. SWAP aims to tackle local unemployment and bridge skills gaps.
Maureen Askew, Head of Learning at Nexus, said: “I’m delighted to say that we’ve scored our first successes with the SWAP training programme, creating careers at Nexus for three successful candidates.
“We have worked closely with Job Centre Plus and Zenith Training to provide opportunities for applicants to gain the essential skills for the job and provide the best possible opportunity to gain a full-time role at the end of it with our Metro customer service team.
“This underlines our commitment to investing in talent development and providing individuals with the skills and opportunities needed to thrive in the public transport industry.
“All of the people on the course, who were from South Tyneside, will have gained a great deal from the training. The three successful candidates are among 20 new Metro customer services advisors that started employment and three week induction training with us in November.”
Job Centre Plus worked closely with Nexus and the training provider to promote the jobs to their clients who meet the eligibility criteria and then refers them to the training provider. The training provider also promotes the opportunities through their well-established channels.
The applicants completed a pre-course interview to ensure they met the eligibility criteria. The application process to the job remains the same but people on the course will gain support to complete the application form, and they will be referred to an assessment and job interview day with Nexus.