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.”