Academy Transformation Trust Further Education, Sutton Community Academy and Ashfield Job Centre Plus have been working together on a new initiative involving the Range homeware store that is due to open in Sutton.

Learners have attended a one-week intensive course to learn retail customer service and interview skills. They will be offered an interview with the Range as part of the course.

Two learners from this initiative are Philip Bunkle (left) and Ryan Brown (right).

Both found the course extremely beneficial and learnt a lot of transferable skills that will not only help them whilst working at the Range, but also in other careers.

Philip said: “We visited the Range store in Chesterfield and the manager told us lots of statistics and facts about the company.”

At the end of the week learners took part in a mock interview.

Ryan said he found the mock interviews helpful because he did not have much interview experience.

The academy offers a range of essential employability courses in partnership with the Job Centre Plus. For more information about how to attend contact the academy on 01623 441310.