News
James’s Journey to Successful Employment
Referral and Skill Development
James, who had worked as an HGV Driver for the Ministry of Defence for over 34 years, found himself unable to continue in his profession due to a temporary health condition. After a period of recovery, James was referred to CEIS Ayrshire. His work coach at the Irvine Job Centre sought our help in finding him suitable employment.
During discussions with his Key Worker, Lynne, it became clear that James had personal experience in supporting and caring for a family member and expressed interest in pursuing a part-time support role. To enhance his skills and job prospects, we enrolled James in the Care Academy courses. This provided him with the opportunity to obtain accredited qualifications and expand his knowledge in the field.
IT Training and Interview Success
James attended our Basic IT course. This course covered topics such as emails, spam/phishing awareness, accessing Zoom, and navigating our online courses. Recognizing that he had previously faced challenges during a care company interview due to inadequate preparation, we organized workshops for James on Skills and Qualities, Interview Skills, and the STAR Technique. He found these sessions helpful, and can incorporate the newly gained hints and tips going forward. He also explained that the Care Academy courses were useful, and that he had learned more about the buzz words to use at the interview stage.
James applied for a Bank work position with The Richmond Fellowship and was invited to an interview conducted via Teams. We provided support in researching the company and discussing potential interview questions. To boost his confidence, we conducted a mock interview and provided feedback. We ensured that James had Teams properly installed on his device and guided him through the process of signing into a Teams meeting. With these preparations in place, James completed the online interview and felt more positive about the outcome this time.
The following day, James received a call from the Richmond Fellowship, informing him that he had been successful. He is currently waiting for the necessary checks to be completed before receiving his start date.
Feedback:
What skills have you gained/improved upon, whilst on the programme?
“Help and advice from Lynne Carr and computer skills from Robin Bourne.”
If you could change anything about the programme what would it be?
“Nothing, all help was delivered in good and professional manner.”
Do you have any other comments?
“I would recommend CEIS Ayrshire to anyone who is unemployed to use your company as they do a fantastic job and have been a great help to myself.”