Two Bradford call centre trainees are putting their training into use straight away by working as tele-operators for the Employment Service.

Bev Buckley and Sylvia Leeman, both of Bradford, are the latest in a long line of successful "graduates" of the Bradford Council-run Call Centre Training Unit in Neal Street.

Bev applied for call centre training as a route back to work following a time as a mature student. Sylvia had previously been a chef but was forced to make a career change after a serious back injury.

Sylvia said: "Both Bev and I were recruited by the Employment Service on the last day of our course at the Call Centre Training Unit. It is a bit ironic that we should move from job training into a job-finding role. However, we are putting much of what we learnt into use in our new jobs."

The pair are part of the Employment Services customer services team helping people back into work. The pair handle up to 175 inquiries a week from local companies seeking staff.

Janet Healey, New Deal co-ordinator at the Employment Service, said today: "Like many other customer-orientated organisations, we are responding to the growth in call centre activity.''

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