A NORTH East college has helped hundreds of unemployed people to get back to work elsewhere in the UK.

A team of 35 trainers from Gateshead College’s Business, Innovation and Development (BID) department travelled to the West Midlands and Merseyside to deliver job-specific training to unemployed people at special skills training academies.

The move has equipped hundreds with new-found skills and confidence to secure jobs as forklift truck drivers and warehouse operatives among other roles with major employers like Jaguar Land Rover and logistics firm DHL.

All those who underwent training were guaranteed a job interview with a local employer if they completed the four-week course at one of the academies.

More than 900 people have completed the college’s training so far, with over half (532) of these now in employment.

This represents a 57% success rate, which is three times higher than the national average for similar types of job training and creation schemes.

In Liverpool, the initiative has been so successful that four-fifths (80%) of people who completed the course have gone on to find employment.

During the academic year 2011/12, training delivered by the BID team helped a further 1,500 people back into employment.

Mick Brophy, managing director for business, innovation and development at the college, said the initiative’s success was down to the quality of the training, which had been tailor-made with specific jobs in mind, and employers helping to design courses to meet their workforce needs.

“The training has not only met employers’ needs but equipped people with the skills and confidence to work again,” he said.

“Large volumes of learners have now completed the programme and it’s a credit to the training staff, together with the commitment of the learners, that so many are able to leave unemployment behind and return to work.”