Gabriella De Angelis, together with her new manager
At the end of 2020, Richmond upon Thames College (RuTC) launched a brand new Pre-Employment programme together with the Job Centre Plus (JCP).
The ten day course gives students an insight into working for the Government, carefully preparing and directing them through the Civil Service’s specific application process. The programme is nationally accredited and 100% free with one to one expert support throughout. After completion, students achieve a Level 1 Personal Development/Customer Service qualification.
Many students who completed the course have already gained interview opportunities and employment, both in the Civil Service as well as other employers. One of the students who completed the course and started her job with the Civil Service is Gabriella De Angelis. In March, she started her role in Kingston as Work Coach for the Department of Work and Pensions.
Before completing the course at RuTC, Gabriella studied Modern Chinese and Management Studies at university and worked in various management roles across a variety of industries. The course was offered to her through Universal Credit. Gabriella said, “I saw the ten day programme as a perfect opportunity to learn about and hopefully gain new skills in a very new industry, the Civil Service. Especially facing lockdown, I was excited to be in college, have training and broaden my contact network. At the time of training it was not my immediate intention to apply for the Civil Service, as until then I had no idea what this really involved, but I was curious and open-minded. I was quite astounded by how many different sectors and roles there are in the Civil Service.”
About the content of the programme, Gabriella said, “It was intensive and invaluable for the preparation and understanding of the Civil Service application process. In small groups, we worked through different topics and practised tests, no day was ever the same. In addition to very competent internal trainers from RuTC, we also had the pleasure to have external trainers, including a Work Coach Manager from the Department for Work and Pensions, who came to the College for a lively discussion. We were taught the very methodical process of how to apply for a Civil Service position, we learned how to read the job descriptions correctly and brushed up our English and Maths. I would definitely recommend the course to anyone at any age who wants to learn about and potentially gain entry into the Civil Service.”
