News & Stories
Success stories
From Baggage Handler to Laptop Engineer! – "I’ve been so lucky!"
Leigh had been working as a baggage handler at Gatwick Airport for over 5 years when, in December 2000, he had an accident and suffered a back injury. Leigh was given ill health retirement from work in December 2002, and immediately went to see his Disability Employment Adviser (DEA) at the Jobcentre. His doctor had advised him to
re-train, so he needed help and advice. He had a wife and daughter to support and he didn’t want to stay on benefits – he wanted to get back to work!
Leigh started the I.T.S.M. course at the College in November 2003. He thought the course was brilliant and really enjoyed it. He said, "I was very motivated to succeed. Training in a real workshop seemed a bit daunting at first, but I always had help when I needed it from the instructors. I found I learnt well by being thrown in at the deep end! I think you get as much out if the course as you put in." Leigh also said that dealing with real customers, both face-to-face and over the telephone, helped him develop his customer service skills and increased his self-confidence. By working on the helpdesk, he also became more confident with paperwork.
After 39 weeks Leigh completed his training at the College, and had new qualifications under his belt, including NVQ Level 2 – Installing and Supporting IT Systems. With the help of his Employment Development Manager, he secured a work placement at TEK Express in Crawley. They are laptop specialists and support all users from individuals to companies.
Leigh said, "They have been so helpful and encouraging. I’ve been so lucky!" Leigh completed his 13-week work placement successfully and then a permanent job then came up at TEK Express for a Junior Laptop Engineer. Leigh applied, and was successful. He’s been working there now since November 2004, and he’s enjoying every minute of it. He says the job is going very well and he is always learning new things and keeping up with the changes in technology.
"I don’t think I’d be here now if it wasn’t for the College. Everyone I met there was so friendly and supportive. I didn’t want to leave! I found that if you put the effort in then the staff went out of their way to help. The instructors were very flexible and were willing to train on any valid request. I was very lucky to have the work placement arranged by the College, as I don’t think I would have got the job otherwise. It has been such a good finish to what I started!"
