BEFORE appearing on the BBC television programme The Apprentice, Lorraine Tighe had spent 20 years climbing the corporate ladder.

She left school at 16 with a drive to succeed rather than a string of qualifications and reached the position of national accounts manager at a blue chip company.

News Shopper: Lorraine Tighe now works at BELS

After being fired in the interview round of the show for being overly aggressive and unable to communicate with the executives, she could have returned to her old job.

But after being under the media spotlight the mother-of-two, from Beckenham, decided to take a break before working out what she wanted to do next.

After her time out Lorraine decided to turn her back on the corporate world and join Business and Education London South (BELS).

The Croydon-based charity works with young people between the ages of 14 and 25 who are not in education or employment so they do not slip through the net.

This work is something Lorraine is very proud of getting involved in.

She said: “I have worked at a senior management level for 20 years and this is the best job I have ever had.

“Everybody that is here is here to work with young people.

“The way society is at the moment, I would like to get the message across that it is not about six figure salaries.”

She added: “We run courses to teach kids confidence which is the most important thing for them to learn.

“We get kids back on track [and] we do not just do one course with them.

“Our trainers are on the phone at seven or 8 am to get these kids out of bed and to get them on the courses.

“We get them to the point where they get places in work.”

News Shopper: Lorraine with BELS colleagues Andrew Garlick (left) and Stephen Smith

Last year 3,000 youths went through the BELS courses to get them back into school or to help them get jobs.

However not every one is a success as Lorraine explains: "We had a girl we had spent three or four years with her and got her to employment stage and at the end we got her a job.

“But she said she wanted to be on X-Factor, rather than taking the place as well as audition for the show.”

The former reality television contestant added: “The thing is only one or two people from these shows make something of themselves.

“Really and truly the television production companies have a lot to answer for.

“You’re not dealing with products here, you’re dealing with human beings and you could go on and destroy someone’s life.

“I think you can get caught up with all these reality shows. Young people are aspiring to be something that is not real.”

BELS works with young people across Croydon, Sutton, Kingston, Richmond, Merton and Bromley.

Anyone who wants to benefit from their free courses can phone 020 8726 0700 or go to bels.org.uk to find out more.