Alison’s Journey From Low Confidence to Job Success
Background
Alison joined our employability programme in May 2024 after attending a job fair. Initially, she struggled with low confidence, anxiety, and uncertainty about her abilities. She was also undergoing health investigations, which added to her challenges. Although Alison expressed an interest in administrative or office-based roles, she was open to exploring other opportunities.
Action Plan of Support
To support Alison on her journey, Lynne Carr was assigned as her Key Worker. Together, they created an action plan designed to build her confidence and prepare her for employment. The tailored action plan focused on four key areas:
- CV Review: Alison shared her CV with Lynne, who reviewed and updated it to ensure it was tailored and polished for submission to potential employers.
- Employability Workshops: Delivered via Zoom, covering various skills and techniques to enhance Alison’s job readiness.
- Accredited Training: Offering relevant qualifications to improve her employability.
- Employment support: CEIS Ayrshire would help Alison find suitable employment.
Workshops and Training
Alison attended several workshops designed to enhance her skills and confidence, including our DevelopMe Workshop. This Introduced Alison to the DevelopMe portal, a great resource for practising mock interviews, refining CVs, and exploring additional employment resources.
Other workshops she attended included: Skills and Qualities, Stress Management, Interview Skills, Principles of Communication, Time Management, STAR Technique, Elevator Pitch, Confidence Building, Customer Service, and Teamwork.
Positive Steps Programme
Recognising her desire to build confidence and gain experience, Lynne referred Alison to the Positive Steps Programme run by The Ayrshire Community Trust (TACT). This programme focuses on improving motivation and self-esteem through practical activities like:
- Identifying skills and strengths.
- Learning how to cook on a budget.
- Health and wellbeing sessions.
- Volunteer placements.
- And more.
Alison thoroughly enjoyed the Positive Steps programme, finding it a valuable step towards achieving her goals.
Sector-Based Work Academy Programme (SWAP)
Lynne identified a potential front-of-house vacancy and facilitated discussions with Gary Miller from the Business Services team, who provided Alison with further details about the role. In September, Alison was referred to the Hospitality Sector-Based Work Academy Programme (SWAP) to enhance her employability skills specific to the hospitality industry.
The SWAP programme provided Alison with:
- Skills and training tailored to the hospitality sector through TrainMe our online training portal.
- Work experience placements.
- An opportunity to achieve the Scottish Personal Bar Licence at SCQF Level 6, significantly increasing her employment prospects in the sector.
Following the Hospitality SWAP, Martine, one of our Business Services Officers, continued to support Alison by sharing job opportunities from my job Scotland that she may be interested in.
Outcome
Alison’s dedication and hard work paid off. In October, she successfully interviewed for a Customer Assistant role with Buzz Bingo, securing a 16-hour contract. Her achievement marked a significant milestone in her employability journey, reflecting the confidence, skills, and resilience she developed through the programme.
Get In Touch
If Alison’s journey inspired you to take that first step to find employment support, don’t hesitate to contact us.
