Jack kickstarts his career with distinction

Dagenham resident achieves a distinction for his apprenticeship after joining as part of the government’s Kickstart scheme.

As Covid hit, Jack Hunter, 21, was unemployed and struggling for work. Wanting to find a job, Jack headed to a careers event at his local job centre and it was there that he met staff from Barking & Dagenham College.

Instantly impressed with Jack’s attitude and enthusiasm, Jack was taken on by the College as a STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) Digital Specialist under the Kickstart programme. Kickstart is a government scheme designed to help create six-month work placements for unemployed young people.

At the end of his work placement, Jack was immediately offered a Digital apprenticeship at the College. Jack has been working hard ever since and has just finished his apprenticeship with an overall Distinction!

Jack is now a Digital Learning Specialist in the College’s Digital Learning Team. His role sees him help college staff with all digital aspects of learning, implementing digital systems and coming up with ideas to help improve the digital service.

Jack says: “Kickstart provided me with a great opportunity in a time of upheaval thanks to covid. The scheme allowed me to get my foot in the door in the working world and gain transferable skills that have helped me with my career progression."

Errol Seaman, Teaching Development Manager at Barking & Dagenham College, who Jack first started working with added: “It’s a delight to see how Jack has grown since joining the College. He’s a fantastic asset to the team and we’re all really proud of him.”