A 47-year-old Newcastle man who feared he may never work again after three months without a job and 80 failed job applications, has won a job.
Philip Lorking, from Elswick, had lost all his confidence after being made redundant and facing a stack of rejections from companies he had applied for jobs with.
Worried for his future, Philip, who has over 20 years’ experience in customer service, said he felt ‘very disheartened’.
He said: “I knew I could easily do the jobs I was applying for so it was hard when people weren’t even getting back to me. I at least hoped for some feedback on why I’d been unsuccessful, most don’t even reply to say ‘no thanks’. I was starting to think I might never find something.”
At one of his regular visits to West Road Job Centre, an advisor offered Philip a chance to do some free Customer Service training, run by Gateshead-based Access Training. The course leads to a nationally recognised qualification and also involves help with CV writing, applying for jobs and interview techniques.
But Philip was sceptical: “I honestly thought the training couldn’t help me because I had experience in customer service and I had, what I thought was, a great CV. I thought it would be a waste of time but I had nothing to lose so I gave it a go.”
Philip attended the training sessions two days a week, for five weeks, and was surprised to find he was learning some useful skills and getting some of his hope and confidence back.
“The training gave me a reality check – my CV was far too long and didn’t show all the great comments about me and my work that I’d had from past employers. Nicola the training advisor was fantastic, she helped me put together a book of references, re-write my CV and handle job interviews with confidence. I started the training very negative and left 110 percent positive,” he said.
Philip went on to win the first job he applied for after completing the training. He is now enjoying working as a customer service advisor for Carillion Energy in Gateshead. Philip advises customers about repairs for their heating systems.
Access Training training advisor, Nicola Brown, said: “We are delighted by Philip’s success. Many people come to us feeling very low after long periods out of work and an important part of what we do is raising their self esteem, as well as helping them achieve a worthwhile qualification.”
Access Training provides free training in Customer Service and IT for over-19s who are unemployed and receiving benefits.
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More than just a training provider…
Gateshead-based Access Training provides upskilling courses and apprenticeships in HR, project management, team leading and management, accountancy, business administration, learning & skills teaching, and fire, emergency & security systems.
We have been delivering training programmes for businesses and individuals across the North East for over 40 years. We have a genuine interest in the success of the companies we work with and the people we train, and we aim to provide a personal, bespoke service.