Pictured above: (from left) Geoff Inskip, the CEO of Centro, Dwain Stevens, Pertemps People Development Group (PPDG) client, Rebecca Poonia, of PPDG, Luke Gibbs, PPDG client, Tony Collins, CEO of Virgin Trains, and Neil Parker, of The Prince's Trust

A group of young Birmingham jobseekers can see light at the end of the unemployment tunnel after clinching apprenticeships in public transport.

A total of six young people were offered apprenticeships by Centro - the West Midlands integrated transport authority - and Virgin Trains in a variety of roles following a training initiative staged in partnership with youth charity The Prince's Trust.

Among the successful candidates to secure customer service roles were Luke Gibbs, aged 25, from Quinton, Birmingham, and Dwain Stevens, 23, from Newtown, Birmingham - both clients of employment experts Pertemps People Development Group (PPDG).

Luke and Dwain had both been unemployed for more than six months and were referred to PPDG by Jobcentre Plus under Government-funded welfare to work initiatives.

As part of the charity's flagship Get Into Transport programme the group each spent three weeks working in various departments at Centro and a week with Virgin Trains. They were also given support with job searching, interview and applications skills through PPDG.

The four-week programme supports young people who have been long-term unemployed, have struggled at school, have been in trouble with the law or have been in care. It gives them practical skills in transport services and hands-on experience from the work experience placements.

The training programme gave the apprentices the opportunity to experience a number of different job roles including customer service, transport information surveyors, bus stations and interchange, marketing and communications and business administration. They also got the opportunity to improve their teamwork and communication skills and boost their confidence, interview skills and CV at the same time, as well as receiving six months progression support from The Prince's Trust.

Employment coach Rebecca Poonia, of PPDG, said Luke - he secured a Virgin Trains apprenticeship - was supported under the Flexible Routeways initiative and she identified that the Centro and Virgin Trains programme was an ideal opportunity for him to broaden his horizons and aspirations.

"At first Luke was a little apprehensive as he had no experience in customer services but we discussed the exciting opportunity and he attended the awareness day. I kept in contact with Luke during his training and attended his 'achievement presentation' after he completed the course. I was amazed at how much his confidence had grown. He is very excited about starting his new job," she added.

Dwain - who secured a Centro apprenticeship - received PPDG support under the Working Neighbourhoods Fund. Employment coach Charlotte Dean said Dwain had worked hard since last November to improve his CV, search for jobs and apply for vacancies. He was always a pleasure to deal with and his very positive attitude helped him secure the apprenticeship at Centro, she added. 

The other successful candidates were Charlotte Carter, 21, from Bewdley, Luke Neate, 20, from Old Hill, Farrah begum, 19, from Alum Rock, and Kelah Fox, 25, from Moseley.

Kathy Williams, the Prince's Trust's West Midlands regional director, said: "The Prince's Trust Get Into Transport course provides a great opportunity for young people to gain valuable work experience to help them find a job."

PPDG's team of employment experts provide advice on benefits, confidence building, one-to-one support, CV and interview preparation as well as finding the right job or training course. In partnership with DWP, the Ministry of Justice and Jobcentre Plus, PPDG delivers a diverse range of employment and training initiatives including Flexible New Deal, Working Neighbourhoods Fund, Learndirect and many ESF funded programmes. More than 100,000 job seekers have been helped into sustained employment by the company since the projects began.  It has trained 130,000 people in vocational skills, and over 175,000 people have benefitted from professional information, advice and guidance services.

For more information about Pertemps People Development Group, please visit their website here: www.ppdg.co.uk