Helen’s Journey

Securing a trainee work placement

Helen has been at the project for about 8 months now. She was referred to the Education, Training and Employment Programme (EET) by her keyworker as she was very eager to get a job but disempowered by her physical health issues, she also had very low confidence, and self-esteem due to being unemployed for over 3 years.

The EET Worker met with Helen and supported her to update her CV. Even though she had not worked for some time, Helen had qualifications and experience in the retail but she did not enjoy working in this sector, she wanted to put her skills to use in a different setting.

During the one-to-one sessions, Helen was supported to identify her individual strengths and talents which helped her to recognise the abilities and opportunities within her. Helen was referred to our professional mentoring program and she was matched with a mentor to support her to work on building her confidence and career guidance. Helen attended weekly mentoring sessions on Zoom. She was supported with career guidance, job searches and applications, cover letter writing, interview skills and online confidence building workshops. She then started volunteering in a beauty and hair dressing salon and she enjoyed it.

Helen has decided to follow this career path and she has been offered the opportunity to work as a paid Junior Trainee after her 3 months volunteering placement.

“It’s nice being there, it’s a nice atmosphere. I am enjoying the simplicity of it and how I am given more responsibility as I go along. It’s manageable and I feel safe there, which is what I always wanted a place where I wasn’t intimidated by the staff. I feel so blessed that this opportunity landed my way. It was causing me a bit of anxiety not knowing in which direction I was heading but tried to keep positive. Thank you so much for your help and support in this difficult time!” Helen, Service user