Young people in Sussex are being encouraged to think about how their first experiences in the world of work could lead to even the unlikeliest of career paths.

Some of the UK’s most well-known celebrities had unlikely starts to their careers as revealed by the Department for Work and Pension's (DWP) #firstjobs campaign.

Davina McCall worked as a sales assistant, Lenny Henry was a welder and Myleene Klass surveyed rivers.

Now the government is encouraging young people in Sussex to gain valuable skills in the world of work, which could help them secure their first job, including through work experience, apprenticeships and sector-specific training.

Karen Brown, from Jobcentre Plus in the South East, said: “Entering the world of work can be daunting for some people, which is why we want to make sure young people in the South East have the skills and experience they need to get a job. “Young people often tell us they can’t get a job without work experience and they can’t get work experience without a job. “That is why we introduced our work experience scheme to give people a taste of the world of work which could open the door to other jobs and careers.”

Minister for Employment, Esther McVey, said: “Our young people are some of the best and most talented in the world.

“They are innovative, entrepreneurial, enthusiastic and we know that – despite the worst recession in living memory – today’s young people are in jobs, training or study in numbers unparalleled compared with recessions that have gone before.

“We’ve just seen the biggest annual fall in the number of unemployed young people since the 1980s and as our #firstjobs campaign shows, your first job might not be your dream job, but it can give you the invaluable skills, experience, contacts and friends you need to get on and that you can take with you on your career journey.”