By the time our Building Better Opportunities employment support programme finished in November 2021, we had supported 249 residents of South Gloucestershire into employment or training.
James* had no qualifications, was unable to read and write, was digitally excluded, and had a large gap in paid employment history. With support of his job coach, he found 2 voluntary positions to build up confidence, work experience and gain references. Together, they found courses to support the James with literacy and numeracy skills, built a CV and uploaded it to jobsites, and applied for jobs.
All this plus great interview prep sessions led to James getting paid employment! He was extremely grateful for support offered by his Job Coach.
Beth* had left mainstream education because of barriers with her mental health & anxiety and was getting support from CAHMS. She was about to take Maths, English and Science assessments with a home tutor and due to Covid-19 restrictions there had been minimal ‘next steps’ support available.
She met with her job coach weekly, initially building trust and a relationship, and explored next steps options, looking at aspirations and goals. They did many activities together including interview preparation, building resilience and confidence, skills identification and gratitude journaling.
Beth eventually applied to attend a college course and felt much more confident about her future, including her relationships with peers.