First Shift
from £1,500 per group
The essentials nobody teaches. How work really works, talking to customers with confidence, being part of a team and handling feedback. Every learner leaves with a certificate.
Work readiness programmes
Work readiness training for young people starting their first job
Practical, high energy training that gets young people ready for their first shift and confident enough to keep the job. We partner with colleges, councils, Jobcentre programmes and employability providers to deliver the soft skills employers say are missing.
Why it matters
Employers are hiring. Many young people are not yet ready.
981,000
young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK were not in education, employment or training, 13% of the age group
Source: ONS, April to June 2026
41%
of employers say soft skills or work readiness is their biggest challenge when hiring young adults
Source: DWP employer survey for the Milburn review
52%
annual staff turnover in UK hospitality, one of the biggest employers of first time workers
Source: CIPD analysis of ONS data
Programmes
Three ways to get learners work ready
Work Ready
from £2,800 per group
Day one builds confidence, mindset and workplace habits. Day two is all about customers: practice in a real venue setting, role plays and a mock interview with honest feedback.
Bespoke delivery
Priced on request
Pre employment and in work soft skills training for youth employment schemes, sector work academies and college courses, designed around your learners and funding requirements.
Inside First Shift
What learners actually do
01
How work works
Turning up on time, what being on shift means, phones away, asking for help and what managers really expect.
02
Talking to customers
Saying hello first, eye contact, what to say when you do not know the answer, and staying calm with a difficult customer.
03
Being part of a team
Taking feedback without taking it personally, helping colleagues and owning a mistake the right way.
04
Practice for real
Role plays in a real or mocked up venue, so the first time they do it for real is not the first time they have done it.
For commissioners
Evidence your funders will want to see
Every programme is built to slot into your existing provision and reporting. You get a delivery partner who turns up, engages learners who have switched off elsewhere, and shows you the difference it made.
- Before and after confidence scoresMeasured for every learner, every group.
- Attendance and completion recordsReady to drop into your own reporting.
- A short written report after each cohortWhat worked, who stood out and recommended next steps.
- Certificates for every learnerSomething to show employers at interview.
Who we work with
Organisations helping young people into work
Colleges
Employability, hospitality and retail courses that want real world skills built in.
Youth employment schemes
Delivery organisations running government backed job and training programmes.
Jobcentres and work academies
Sector based pre employment training ahead of guaranteed interviews.
Councils and charities
Local skills, youth and community programmes across Sussex, Surrey and the South East.
Your trainer
Someone who has been the one doing the hiring
Rusty Lloyd has spent thirty years in management, ownership and leadership across hospitality, leisure and corporate sales. He knows exactly what employers look for in a new starter, because for thirty years he has been the one choosing them.
Learners remember him. That is the point. Young people who have switched off from classroom training sit up when someone real, bold and unapologetically themselves tells them how work actually works.
Questions
For colleges and providers
What age groups do you work with?
Our programmes are designed for young people aged 16 to 24 who are starting work for the first time or returning after a long gap.
Can you deliver at our premises?
Yes. We deliver at colleges, community venues and Jobcentre sites, or in a working venue where possible so learners practise in a real setting.
Can the content be adapted to our programme?
Yes. We adapt to your learners, your sector focus, your timetable and the outcomes your funders need to see.
How is pricing structured?
We price per group, so you know the full cost up front. Rolling cohorts and multi year programmes are quoted individually.
Talk to us
Planning a cohort?
Tell us about your learners, your timescales and your funding, and we will come back within one working day with a proposal.