Scarlet, a 20-year-old resident of Horley, Surrey, joined Surrey’s Connect to Work programme after experiencing barriers to employment due to hypermobility and a joint and muscle condition. Prior to engaging with the programme, Scarlet was NEET (not in education, employment or training), and was looking for support to help her move closer to the workplace and find a role that suited her abilities, interests and aspirations.

Scarlet decided to take part in Connect to Work because she wanted to gain employment, build her confidence and work towards greater independence. Whilst motivated to work, she faced challenges associated with her health condition, including finding a role that would accommodate her physical needs and provide the right level of support.

When she joined Connect to Work, Scarlet was allocated a dedicated Employment Specialist. This Employment Specialist worked closely with her to understand her strengths and interests and help identify a role that would be a good match for her specific skills and circumstances.

How it works

Scarlet initially completed a work experience placement with a local firm, Oven Fresh Bakery. Both Scarlet and Oven Fresh were delighted with how well the work experience went, and as a result Scarlet was offered a permanent part-time job with the firm. She now works for Oven Fresh based in a busy office canteen environment. She serves food and beverages, handles payment and supports customers throughout the day. The role provides a positive and supportive working environment and has been tailored to accommodate her physical needs, enabling her to perform her duties comfortably and successfully.

Scarlet found the process of finding employment through Connect to Work straightforward and supportive. Her dedicated Employment Specialist was on hand to give her encouragement, guidance and reassurance throughout each stage of her journey. The personalised approach helped her feel confident in pursuing opportunities that she may not otherwise have considered.

Since starting employment, Scarlet has made significant progress both personally and professionally. She has developed her confidence, gained valuable workplace experience and established a positive routine. Employment has provided her with greater independence, increased social interaction and the opportunity to contribute meaningfully within a team environment. She has settled well into her role and continues to receive positive feedback from colleagues, managers and customers. And her employer has been pleased with the contribution she has made and the positive attitude she brings to the workplace.

Reflecting on her experience, Scarlet said: “It’s a great team and working environment. I really enjoy my job and it’s going really well.”

Looking ahead, Scarlet hopes to continue developing her skills and experience within employment, increase her confidence further and continue building her independence. She is proud of what she has achieved and is excited about her future.

When asked what she would say to someone who is not sure whether Connect to Work is right for them, Scarlet said: “I’d definitely recommend it. The support helped me find a job that’s right for me and gave me the confidence to start working.”

Is Connect to Work right for you?

Find out more about the Connect to Work programme, or complete our Get Support Now form and a member of our friendly team will contact you.

KFC UK is a global brand with a UK headquarters in Woking, Surrey. Discover more about jobs and careers with KFC UK by watching our Surrey Success Story video.

KFC UK – based in Woking

It’s an iconic global brand with a founder as famous as its food. But how many of you knew that Colonel Sanders’ fried chicken legacy is rooted in Surrey as well as Kentucky?

It’s nearly a century since the white suited Sanders first started serving his fried chicken in a roadside motel in the United States. The taste is now exported round the world, including the UK.

Kentucky Fried Chicken – known better as KFC – opened its first UK restaurant in Preston, Lancashire in the 1960s.

And the UK operation has never looked back. Currently there are more than 1,000 branches in the UK. And its parent company KFC UK has an annual turnover of close to £300 million.

This major operation is all coordinated from a UK headquarters in the heart of the Surrey town of Woking.

Find out more about careers and jobs with KFC UK on the KFC UK careers page.

Working at KFC UK

So how has a company founded in the southern US state of Kentucky come to be so popular?

Well, the food is pretty good – with the unique blend of 11 herbs and spices still very much a top level secret.

The company is also committed to being bold and innovative.

Jo Tivers, Head of Food and Quality, said: “I love working in the fast food industry. As the name suggests, it’s really, really fast. We can be really innovative, we can try new things. We have a customer base that is really interested in trying new things.”

The company is also big on investing in its people – with culture being a real focus. It claims to be “people first culture, really heart-led” – with a real focus on supporting and championing young people, especially with their first jobs.

As Hema Ladwa, People Experience Lead, explains: “We really believe that everyone has the potential, we just need to feed that potential, whether it’s feeding them chicken or whether it’s feeding them through their knowledge and through their learning and development.”

This commitment inspires loyalty and nurtures talent, for now and into the future.

Why work at KFC UK in Surrey?

KFC UK has had its restaurant support centre in Woking for more than 25 years. About 350 people are based there, with location being a major plus point – for business and for pleasure.

With direct train links to London taking 30 minutes and the M25 and two major airports a short drive away, connectivity couldn’t be better.

Jenny Packwood, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, said: “Not only do we have great proximity to London, the trains are really quick in and out to London for people who live there. And because we’re international, the proximity to Heathrow and Gatwick is also really helpful.”

Woking is also a fantastic place for people to be live, continually ranked among the best places in the UK to reside.

There’s culture, countryside, shopping, great food and drink plus access to a range of recreational facilities.

Jo Tivers, Head of Food and Quality, said: “It’s great to be able to go into the weekend, enjoy lunch out with the family, take them to the theatre, to the cinema. There’s always something incredible to do.”

Find out more about careers and jobs with KFC UK on the KFC UK careers page.

Need extra support?

STEP Surrey provides dedicated support to help you and other Surrey residents find work or return to work.

• Search our provider directory to find a place to start learning new skills.
• If you need further support, you can get in touch with our team of experts via the Get Support Now form.
• Want to stay on touch? Sign up to our newsletter in just a few clicks.

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) is a global company based out of Surrey Research Park in Guildford. It was founded nearly 50 years ago and now has 400 employees. Discover more about the opportunities of working in space that Surrey has to offer by watching our video.

About Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) is a Surrey Success Story which is literally out of this world.

From starting out in the late 1970s as an experiment in a small university lab, the company has really taken off.

And now, more than 40 years on, SSTL has 400 employees and launched more than 70 satellites into space for 22 countries.

But, more importantly, it paved a new way in space exploration – demonstrating how relatively small and inexpensive “micro” satellites could be built rapidly to perform successful and sophisticated missions.

Its story is a showcase of British ingenuity, ambition and engineering expertise. And central to it all has been its home region of Surrey.

History of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd

In the late 1970s, a group of researchers working at the University of Surrey, led by a young Martin Sweeting, decided to experiment by creating a satellite using commercial off-the-shelf components.

That first satellite, UoSat-1, was built in a small university lab in a cleanroom fabricated from B&Q.

Launched in 1981 with the help of NASA, the small satellite was a great success, outliving its planned three year life by more than five years.

In 1985 Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd formed as a spin-out company to transfer the results of research into a commercial enterprise.

In 2009 Airbus bought the majority shareholding from the University of Surrey, allowing SSTL to fulfill its growth potential.

It continues to go from strength to strength. Future plans include working on the Lunar Pathfinder project. This will be the UK’s first full satellite to go and orbit the moon.

SSTL and Surrey Research Park

“Surrey is the sole reason we exist today. I think from my friends at school who went to other universities at the same time that I did, and who tried to do one or two sort of things a little bit out of the ordinary. They tended to get sort of pushed back.”

Rather than being pushed back, Sir Martin Sweeting received backing aplenty, crucially from the University of Surrey.

The institution supported his idea and a home at the Surrey Research Park, where SSTL remains today.

Since being formed more than 40 years ago, SSTL has created more than 2,500 jobs. In the same period, its turnover has been £1.5 billion, of which £1 billion has been exports.

Key to growth has been collaboration with other Surrey businesses, including the Space South Central cluster.

Zoe Bowden, Head of Procurement and ESG, says: “We’re the largest space cluster in the UK at the moment. It’s a really fantastic way to unite industry, academia and government. Our indirect supply chain has really benefited from a lot of the SMEs that are around the local area.”

Surrey’s location is also a brilliant selling point to investors and important stakeholders.

Andrew Greenhalgh, Head of Marketing, explains: “The number of visitors we get here, the number of politicians who are interested in space, who love the fact they can be in Surrey within 35 minutes from Waterloo. We’re very proud that we can bring them down to Surrey and show them what we’re doing here.”

Discover more about jobs and careers with SSTL on the SSTL jobs page.

Need extra support?

STEP Surrey provides dedicated support to help you and other Surrey residents find work or return to work.

• Search our provider directory to find a place to start learning new skills.
• If you need further support, you can get in touch with our team of experts via the Get Support Now form.
• Want to stay on touch? Sign up to our newsletter in just a few clicks.

Ann Summers has been a landmark business in Surrey for more than 50 years. And during that time they have used the region as a base to garner international notoriety. Discover more about this landmark Surrey business and the opportunities they have by watching our video.

About Ann Summers

Ann Summers has a global reputation with an annual turnover of more than £100 million – and it’s all forged from a HQ in Surrey.

As chief executive officer Maria Hollins says: “We are known for being trailblazers, for breaking taboos and pushing boundaries. I think we literally are one-of-a-kind.”

The business started out in 1971 as two stores. The Gold family bought it in 1972. Under their leadership it has grown to be an established, iconic British brand.

The company now has 86 stores, a global website, trade with 14 external partners and direct selling business. Its most recent annual turnover was reported to be more than £100 million.

But its head office and warehouse is very local – next to the A22 in Whyteleafe, just north of Caterham.

Working at Ann Summers

“When you speak to people in our business and you ask them why they joined and why they stay with Ann Summers, it is because of our culture.”

As Talent Acquisition and Engagement Lead at Ann Summers, Lauren Simmons knows the reasons why people love working at the business.

With 360 colleagues working at their Whyteleafe HQ there is lots of scope for progression. And many of those who work for the business have been with the company for many years. This is in part down to the culture, its reputation for innovation and the where it is based.

But why did Ann Summers base itself in Surrey back in the early 1970s?

Melinda Louis, Operations Manager at Ann Summers, says:

“We have been here for more than 50 years. The family were based in Surrey so it kind of made sense for the business to be here.”

Surrey – a great place to do business

So, what are the advantages of a major retail business being anchored in Surrey?

Well, for those at Ann Summers it’s all about location, location, location.

With two international airports, the M25 just minutes away and excellent connections to London and Dover, there’s nowhere better.

Melinda Louis, Operations Manager at Ann Summers, says: “We always talk about the Midlands for logistics. Well, let me tell you, Surrey is the place to be. It’s kind of that feeling of having everything London has, but with additional benefits.”

“We’ve got great transport links. We’re very close to the M25, pretty close to some of the ports and obviously we bring in a lot of product inbound from overseas.”

Tens of thousands of people see the building every day thanks to its position next to the A22.

Lauren Simmons, Talent Acquisition and Engagement Lead at Ann Summers, says: “We’ve almost become a bit of a landmark actually. The roundabout that is right by our office is now known as the Ann Summers roundabout, which we’re really proud of.”

View the latest available jobs at the Ann Summers careers pages.

Need extra support?

STEP Surrey provides dedicated support to help you and other Surrey residents find work or return to work.

Search our provider directory to find a place to start learning new skills.

If you need further support, you can get in touch with our team of experts via the Get Support Now form.

Want to stay on touch? Sign up to our newsletter in just a few clicks.

Rita Botanicals is a business in Guildford which sells plants, pots and house gardening services. Here’s how a free Multiply course helped make that happen.

When Rita gave up her job in a creative agency for health reasons, she knew she wanted to do something different next. She wanted to help people in some way. And make use of the love and knowledge of plants she learned from her grandmother, also named Rita.

Rita landed on the idea to open a plant shop with a difference – one with a strong community ethos and emphasis on mental health.

“I just envisioned a place where it would be more of a community-based business. I wanted to not just have a plant shop, my goal was to create a space for people to feel more themselves.”

However, she wasn’t sure how to get started. She felt lacking in investment funds and business knowledge, and crucially, was also lacking in confidence about her numeracy skills.

And that’s where Rita discovered Multiply.

Funded by government, Multiply courses were created to help adults without Maths GCSE to improve their maths skills and number confidence.

Rita was able to take a Multiply course on ‘How to start your own business without money’ run by The Rebel Business School (a Multiply provider for Surrey County Council).

It didn’t cost her anything. And it boosted her number confidence from 1 out of 5 before the course, to a score of 4 out of 5 on completion.

Importantly the course helped her to understand tax, VAT, and the basics of setting up and running a small business. It meant she felt confident to make the leap and start her own. She says,

“In terms of numeracy, [the course] really boosted my knowledge. And then I got the confidence when I got through it.”

Starting a business: Rita Botanicals

Following the Multiply course, although Rita still didn’t have any funds to invest in starting a business. So she took the resilience and adaptability skills she’d learned on the course. And applied to a business competition to win a pop-up-shop premises in Guildford.

“I didn’t have a lot of things to help me to go where I wanted, but [the course] pushed me to find alternative routes. They taught me skills of dig deep, keep looking, just keep going, it will happen, you’ve just got to keep searching, it might take longer but you’ll get there. And how to barter, how to get things.”

Rita won the pop-up premises. And her plant shop, Rita Botanicals now has a permanent home in Guildford’s White Lion Walk. All thanks to that initial Multiply course she took.

And has Rita fulfilled her dream of running a business that is also a place for the community? She says:

“It’s like this bridge between generations and a common interest, which is really nice to see. And also a lot of people get educated on nature again, because they don’t have the means to get out and about.  Whatever they’re going through it encourages them to bring it home.

“And I think that really helps a lot of people with their anxieties as well. I have a lot of people with depression that come through and I see how much they feel more at ease in the shop and I love that. So it’s not just a business it’s more of a place as well.”

Skills support in Surrey

STEP Surrey is a Surrey County Council service offering free skills, employment and training support.

Get in touch with our team of experts via our online Get Support Now form.

After nine years in retail, Claudia’s passion for the planet led her to sign up to a Sustainability Skills Bootcamp from Surrey County Council. The free fast-track training course equipped her with new skills which she’s used to land a great new job.

Claudia is one of hundreds of people in Surrey to take part in Skills Bootcamps in 2024.

She saw an Instagram ad from Surrey County Council for the government-funded training. This perfectly aligned with her sustainability interests and sparked her decision to enrol.

The Skills Bootcamps journey allowed Claudia to juggle full-time work and study with the support of the training providers at Activate Learning.

In just a few weeks she gained the skills she needed to land a great job in an area she’s really passionate about.

She said: “The instructors were fantastic, making complex topics accessible and engaging.”

Packed with practical learning

Practical exercises are seen as the biggest benefit of Skills Bootcamps from Surrey County Council. 

These enabled real-world application straight back into the workplace. Learning about the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) was incredibly rewarding.

Completing the Skills Bootcamps in Surrey was a game-changer. Claudia’s new skills and knowledge impressed at interview, leading to a role in a new company with an active approach to sustainability.

The Skills Bootcamp has empowered Claudia with the expertise to make a significant impact in her career. She is now equipped to champion sustainable practices in her industry.

Claudia said: “I highly recommend the Surrey County Council Skills Bootcamp in Sustainability.

“This well-structured course provides a great balance of theory and practical application – making it easy to integrate sustainability principles into both personal and professional settings.

“The course offers valuable insight into the vast field of sustainability, helping you identify areas you may want to specialise in.

“For me, it was a fantastic addition to my skillset. And it played a key role in helping me secure a new job with a company that has sustainability at its core.

“This course truly allows you to demonstrate your commitment to this field. It is a great stepping stone for anyone looking to make a real impact!”

Discover more about Skills Bootcamps in Surrey

We – as part of Surrey County Council – offer Skills Bootcamps in sectors that are crucial to Surrey’s future economy.

Any Surrey resident aged 19 and over can register for a course.

To find out more about the courses on offer, delivered through our training providers, visit the Skills Bootcamps website.

Not sure if this is right for you? Or need some extra help? Get in touch with our team of experts via our online Get Support Now form.

Please note funding for the current round of courses runs until the end of March 2025. Therefore, some courses may now be unavailable or have reached capacity.