SWAP course opens up new world of employment opportunities

After working in demolition for the same company for almost 30 years, Kevin Pole was made redundant a couple of years ago. He decided to "probably take a year out" as the job had been a hard slog, taking toll on his body and mind.

After a period of rest, Kevin started volunteering for Leicestershire and Rutland Blood Bikes and started to look for paid work. After several rejections, he got to the point where he needed to sign on for Universal Credit to help out.

He kept going to job fairs and visiting the Market Harborough Jobcentre, but couldn’t find a position that suited him.

One afternoon, the Jobcentre mentioned possible courses at Leicester College. Kevin found the thought of “going back to school a bit daunting, so dismissed it”.

“When considering jobs in security, I thought of a doorman at a night club,” says Kevin. However, when he was asked again about the courses, he re-considered as the cycle of not finding a job was getting “tiresome”.

Kevin aces security course

So, Kevin started an eight-week Security Sector Based Work Academy (SWAP) Level 2 course at the College’s City Skills Centre.  

Kevin continues; “I went there, not confident that anything would come of it but after the first week or so, I was finding the course really interesting, learning about what security is and what it entails.

“The first 2-3 weeks was all classroom work and I was doing ok, but then we moved to the computer rooms. I’d not done that before and you get scared of what you don't know! However, the tutors guide you through everything and then it seems easy.

“I passed the mock exams and took my main exams, passing with good results. The whole course opened my eyes to the world of security.”  

Securing employment in security

“Following the course, I was fortunate to secure an interview with a company called Shield Tech who took me on, and I’ve since grown and grown,” Kevin adds.

“After my redundancy, I thought that I'd never find any job that I enjoyed as much again but thanks to the course at Leicester College, I’m now working at football, rugby and corporate events all over the country, and I’m loving it.”