When recruitment processes moved online during COVID, Weston College was approached by the Jobcentre to design a programme to prepare new Job Coaches for Civil Service roles.
The recruitment model itself had changed. Applications were submitted online, interviews were recorded remotely, and assessments were completed digitally. Learners were expected to demonstrate competence not only in employability skills but in navigating digital platforms safely and professionally.
At the same time, many of the learners coming through Weston College’s employment services had spent years in sectors where technology was not central to daily work.
Some had worked in manual trades. Others had been caring for family members. A number had been out of the labour market for long periods. Their experience was strong, but their digital confidence often was not.
Debbie Sinclair, Lead Internal Quality Assurer at Weston College, describes how this shift created new risks and learning needs. She said: “People were applying from home, interviewing from home, and then expected to work from home. In a normal workplace, a lot of the security and data protection is built into the environment around you. At home, it is not.”
Debbie Sinclair, Lead Internal Quality Assurer, Weston CollegeIn a normal workplace, a lot of the security and data protection is built into the environment around you. At home, it is not.
Rather than offering generic digital skills training, Weston College chose to embed the Gateway Qualifications Level 1 Award in Cybersecurity into its employability pathways.
The intention was to support learners to understand safe online working, data protection, professional conduct in digital environments and how to manage personal information responsibly. This was delivered alongside interview preparation, application writing, CV development and professional behaviours.
Learners were often dealing with personal and sensitive information, both their own and that of others. Those progressing into Job Coach roles would be supporting people who were unemployed, advising on CVs, and handling personal details. Understanding what could and could not be shared, how to work safely online, and how to protect data when working from home became central to being genuinely work ready.
“We were not just teaching people how to use technology,” explained Debbie. “We were helping them understand what safe practice looks like when you are dealing with people’s information and doing it all online.”
Debbie Sinclair, Lead Internal Quality Assurer, Weston CollegeWe were helping them understand what safe practice looks like when you are dealing with people’s information and doing it all online.
Delivery was shaped around short, focused courses designed to move people quickly into work or further learning.
The cybersecurity content was introduced early in the programme and then reinforced through practical employability activities. When learners worked on applications, CVs or mock interviews, digital safety and professional boundaries were revisited in context.
This helped learners see cybersecurity as part of everyday working practice rather than as a standalone topic.
Digital access itself was also a challenge. Some learners did not own a computer or had unreliable internet at home. Others relied on smartphones, which made completing applications and learning tasks more difficult.
Staff worked with learners to address these practical barriers and to support digital inclusion as part of the wider employability offer.
The programmes are aimed at people who are considered ready to move into work, often with employers directly involved in delivery through talks, mock interviews and recruitment engagement. This helped learners understand the relevance of cybersecurity to real roles rather than seeing it as abstract learning.
The same model has since been used with existing Civil Service staff who needed to refresh their understanding of digital practice and data protection.
Gateway Qualifications has become the awarding organisation of choice for this provision because of the way qualifications can be combined and shaped around employer need.
The flexibility allows Weston College to build programmes that reflect real job roles and recruitment processes rather than forcing learners into rigid structures.
Debbie Sinclair, Lead Internal Quality Assurer, Weston CollegeWhat we like with Gateway Qualifications is the flexibility. We can run three or four qualifications at the same time and fit them together. We can start with cybersecurity on day one and then layer it into the application, the CV and the interview work so it all links.
For Debbie, the main learning is that employability provision works best when it is designed around the realities of the roles learners are moving into:
“It is about understanding what the employer wants and then asking what else you can add to support the person going into that role. The cybersecurity element gave that extra layer and helped people step into the world of work with more confidence and awareness.”
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The Gateway Qualifications Level 1 Award in Cybersecurity, winner of Qualification of the Year at the Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB) Awards, offers an engaging introduction to one of today’s most critical digital skills areas.
This single unit qualification helps learners build a clear understanding of cybercrime and the practical steps used to protect systems and data. Learners explore essential cybersecurity practices, including vulnerability and penetration testing, user access control, and everyday protective methods used across organisations. Designed for flexibility, the qualification can be delivered as a stand‑alone, bite‑sized award or combined with other units and qualifications to create meaningful, tailored packages of learning.