Testimonials

“I’m earning as well as learning. Personally I didn’t want to go to university and study for three or four years as you’re not guaranteed a job at the end of it.

“Now I have a full-time job whilst also gaining qualifications to help me progress.”

“Taking part in the Traineeship programme improved my confidence and motivated me to get out of the house and build a career. If I hadn’t have done the course I’d still be looking for work. I’m now doing my NVQ and I hope to keep building from there.

“I was so impressed with the Starting Point service that I encouraged my boyfriend Danny to visit.”

"It was a great idea to come here. There's a lot more opportunity to meet the actual employers instead of just applying for the jobs online. There's a lot of courses available to get the qualifications before you enter work."

"I'm so happy with how much I've learnt since coming to the Chamber. My employer was supported all the way through thanks to my training adviser"

"I have thoroughly enjoyed working through and learning my NQV Level 2. I feel much more confident and have learned so much from my assessor. I look forward to continuing onto my Level 3 in Health and Social care."

“I was at college but I wasn’t enjoying the education side of it like the exams and A levels.

“My Apprenticeship got me financially stable at an early stage and I love what I am doing now. It’s been an added bonus getting a qualification at the same time.”

“The course stood out as it was something different. It offered me the chance to learn whilst in a working environment.

Even though we were there to learn we were treated like employees of the Chamber rather than kids in a classroom.”

“ I feel like I find the practical tasks enriching and I’ve learned a lot more by being hands on than I would have done if I was learning from a book.”

“I like how much support the Chamber gives you through the Apprenticeship. The company have supported me as well.

“Taking on this Apprenticeship has been really helpful and I have learned so much about myself and other things I didn’t know.”

 

"When you apply for jobs now, employers are looking for experience. So I’m glad I’ve done an Apprenticeship and have got that experience.”

“I would definitely recommend an Apprenticeship. I didn’t think I would be able to build a website and use Adobe software, I’m learning new skills every day.”

“I really enjoyed working on my Level 2 and cannot wait to start my Level 3 and more. None of this would have been possible without this help and guidance from Karen. I cannot thank her enough, she is the best adviser ever!

“I can honestly say without you I’d still be on the first book of my NVQ. I have gained so much knowledge about my job and about care in general. I’ve loved every minute of it.”

“I was able to look into jobs that I didn’t know existed. Starting Point helped me find jobs that were suitable for me in terms of the hours and pay. I’m quite artistic and my current role is all about making things and working with your hands.”

"The Chamber Hair Academy is a very friendly environment and the tutors are lovely. Because the class sizes are small you can get a lot more one to one support and can really get stuck in.”

“The course at the Chamber was really good and informative. The best part of it for me was updating and writing a professional CV as I’d always struggled with that beforehand. I would absolutely recommend going down this route to others looking to change their career, it’s got me out of a job I no longer liked doing.”

The course was great as they taught us about Health and Safety regulations as well as all the important practical tasks. I completed work experience with a local business to boost my skills and CV, then the Training Advisers matched me to the job I’m in now

“The range of different activities on the Fast Track to Apprenticeships course really appealed to me; you learn how to apply for jobs and what to expect in a business environment – office etiquette, how to behave in a workplace... this was really helpful for me when I was settling in”.

“I would definitely recommend the Fast Track to an Apprenticeship course to my friends, the interview skills part was really helpful and gave me a bit more confidence when I went out to employers”

“The Fast Track to an Apprenticeship programme definitely helped, before doing the course my CV was boring and didn’t have much information in and I didn’t have much confidence in interviews, so these parts of the course in particular really helped me get to where I am today.

“The Career Coaches matched me to my current position and recommended that I apply, because they saw I was ready to go into the workplace and my skills were a good fit for the job”.