Paul was referred to the Restart Scheme with Reed in Partnership by his Work Coach at the Jobcentre. During his initial meeting with his Employment Advisor, it came to light that Paul’s personal circumstances had changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to Paul losing his job.
He was struggling financially which had a detrimental impact on his mental health and as a result, he had a complete lack of energy and motivation to find work. From his first meeting, it was clear that Paul had extensive experience in hospitality and had worked in various kitchen roles for most of his life. However, it was also clear that he no longer wanted to work within this sector and he needed support with placing himself within a new industry.
His Employment Trainer worked with him to build an effective CV and it wasn’t long before his Employment Advisor found him a job vacancy as a CCTV Operator, however, the criteria required a CIA license. Nevertheless, this sparked an interest in this sector and Paul’s focus shifted to security work.
At first, Paul was reluctant to attend training, due to his lack of experience with working with others and self-confidence barriers. To limit the impact of this, his Employment Advisor encouraged him to attend a one-to-one Interview Skills Training session with him which increased his confidence to progress into a group session. Paul’s personal growth and development was demonstrated through his contribution to training.
Reed in Partnership provided support every two weeks and financial support was one of the biggest factors to aiding development and opportunities. Travel reimbursement allowed Paul to attend his weekly appointments so that he could receive the support, guidance and training from the team.
Paul recently accepted a job offer as a Customer Service Assistant and it was the element of security within the role that drew him to the vacancy. He talked through the financial support that was available to him, with his Employment Advisor, now that he was in work, such as help with the cost of travel for the first four weeks, and to purchase work clothes and boots for his new job. They also discussed other in-work support available to Paul, such as weekly catch-up calls to make sure he was getting on well.
Paul said, “Everyone at Reed in Partnership has been so helpful and friendly. The financial support I was given was great and I really enjoyed coming in to talk to everyone. It was exactly what I needed to get back into work. I will revisit when I can and who knows, I may come back to lead a session one day!”
In partnership with Reed in Partnership. The Restart Scheme is funded by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Area: Cornwall
