Helping people to find jobs

When Woolworths went into administration last December, Karen Bedziejewski was among dozens of Croydon residents who suddenly found themselves unemployed. Now, with the help of Croydon College, she has beaten the economic gloom and found a new full-time job.

Karen joined Woolworths when she left school over 15 years ago and had worked there ever since. She had never had to look for another job and had never written a CV. However, she was determined to be as proactive as possible and so she joined a Job Skills course at Croydon College. Here she studied to gain specific skills in her chosen area (Customer Service) alongside general skills such as CV writing and interview techniques.

Karen found her new job through the College's vacancy-matching service, where it receives vacancy information directly from employers and sends them the details of suitable candidates from the Job Skills courses.

Speaking after being told that her job application had been successful, Karen said: "It was a real shock when Woolworths closed after I had worked there for so many years. With the help of the Job Skills team at Croydon College, I was able to find full-time employment. I would highly recommend this course to others in my situation."

Croydon College has been helping a lot of people affected by the economic downturn. Ben Geeson, Marketing Manager at the College said: "We are finding that a lot of people are being made redundant who have been with one employer for many years and have no recent experience of looking for a job. We can help to advise them on how to go about this as well as helping them with the basic skills that employers are looking for ? literacy, numeracy and IT."

If you are currently unemployed, then the College may be able to help you.

You can find out more about the Job Skills provision and sign up at www.jobskillssouthlondon.com

You can also call 0208 686 5700 ext 1433 or email: jobskills@croydon.ac.uk