Apprentice Rhys Blackburn returns to Key Training

Like many young people, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do after leaving school.

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Looking back, I can say that I only attended Sixth Form because it was the ‘safe option’ – all my friends were there, and I could essentially pick which lessons I wanted to do. While I enjoyed school, I knew deep down that I didn’t want to spend any more time in a classroom, which gradually turned me away from the idea of going to uni.

After bouncing through a few dead-end jobs to tide myself over after leaving school, I came across a vacancy for a Level 3 Business Admin apprenticeship at an estate agents close to where I lived. Having always been an organised person and finding the idea of working in property intriguing, I thought I’d give it a shot – having never considered the idea of an apprenticeship before.To my surprise, Key Training came back to me almost immediately and invited me to meet with them.

Carol, my learning coach, was absolutely fantastic and I was stunned by how supportive, helpful and encouraging she was – the polar opposite of what I was used to from the teachers and employers I’d previous known!After securing an interview, I was ecstatic to learn I’d been offered the position soon after. When I started, I was amazed to realise that I actually liked it! For the next 12 months, I acquired new skills and developed existing ones I didn’t even know I had, all with the constant support of the staff there and at Key Training. As tough and demanding as the job was, I felt I had finally found something I wanted to keep doing!With the Level 3 Business Admin qualification as my foundation, I spent the next 8 years gaining more qualifications as I worked in various roles and sectors within the property industry; lettings, marketing, property management, accompanied viewings, before eventually becoming Propertymark-certified and working my way to up Manager.

However, after the impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic, I decided that I wanted a change.I decided to try my hand at recruitment and training. After a year of learning the ropes and getting to grips with a brand-new industry, I was thrilled to be offered a position as a Sales and Operations Support Advisor at Key Training.9 years later and I feel that I have finally come full circle, working at the company who set me on my way into employment. I owe my every success and everything I have learned over the years to Key Training. I can categorically say that I wouldn’t be the same person today if they hadn’t helped and supported me as much as they did all those years ago!

Even though I now work in a completely different industry to property, the qualification I obtained through them has made such a drastic shift possible!

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I am proud to work for such a professional organisation and hope that one day, I too will be help someone as directionless and as I was back then to find their dream job!

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Onwards and upwards!