A group of people aged 18-24 from Birmingham have successfully completed the first-ever traineeship carried out by both Solihull College and Virgin Trains. Aimed at preparing people for an apprenticeship, and employment, traineeships provide trainees with basic skills and knowledge, including numeracy and literacy.
Due to the success of this traineeship, both the College and Virgin Trains hope to recruit the next cohort of 18-24 year olds over the next few months.
The Level 2 Customer Service Traineeship, which is based at Birmingham International Train Station, runs for 13 weeks and includes training in Crewe which is where the company is based. During the course of the traineeship, young people gain experience in hosting First Class Customers at the lounges, proactively seeking out customers who need assistance at stations and ensure all customers are dealt with in-line with Virgin Trains Customer Experience requirements.
22-year-old Mark Miller from Great Barr showed an impressive amount of dedication to the traineeship; after several years working in retail, he felt the time was right for a new career direction. Mark comments: “Working with people is one of my strengths and I felt by doing this I would gain new skills and experiences with a well-known brand. I have really enjoyed my time on the traineeship; it has helped improve my confidence and without a doubt has improved my career prospects”.
This experience has encouraged Mark to strive towards a career with Virgin Trains and along with a number of other trainees he has been offered employment with the company – after demonstrating a great deal of commitment while on the traineeship.
Nadia Davies, Work Based Learning Coordinator at the College supported the trainees throughout the programme, she comments: “??It has been incredibly rewarding to see the trainees developing employability and customer service skills during the traineeship. A vast increase in confidence and knowledge has already led to employment for many with others now better equipped for the jobs market! I’m delighted this has been so successful and I am excited at the prospect of providing more young people and employers the same opportunity in the near future”.?
For more information about the variety of apprenticeships and traineeships on offer at Solihull College please visit www.solihull.ac.uk/apprenticeships and traineeship courses or call 0121 678 7000
