News
We supported our client into work after 17 years of being a carer for her son.
CEIS Ayrshire is proud of the work we do in North Ayrshire and we actively engage with clients and the community to provide them with any support they need for work, training or further education.
We supported our client with referrals to help her mental health and further support to get into work. Find out how we helped by reading the story below.
A client self-referred to CEIS Ayrshire in August 2021. She was facing some difficulties in her home life and had been a Carer for her son for 17 years. Difficulties at home had impacted on her mental health and although her son still required support, she felt that it was time to focus on her own wellbeing.
Following the initial registration appointment, it was agreed that a referral to Salus for health-related support would be beneficial.
Following the first few sessions with Salus, she was keen to start her employability journey. She expressed an interest in Catering and we discussed a few on-line courses that would be beneficial. Although she was keen to do this, she struggled with IT. Basic IT was put in place, and she attended this for several weeks. She then went onto complete Level 1 Food Safety in Catering.
Unfortunately, in September her mental health took a dip and we agreed to concentrate on her wellbeing and would re-instate employability when she was in a better frame of mind. She felt that she was not ready to go into employment just yet and decided to take up the offer of a Health & Wellbeing course run by Ayrshire College.
In a face-to-face meeting in October, we picked up with employability and assisted her in compiling a CV. We discussed a part-time job opportunity with a local Café and although very nervous she decided she would like to be put forward for this. Unfortunately, she felt this type of working environment wasn’t for her. She continued to engage with Salus in the background.
In November 21, she agreed to be put forward for another Catering opportunity but was unfortunate not to be offered this position. She was still engaging with the College, Salus, IT sessions and juggling family commitments.
In January 2022 an opportunity arose with North Ayrshire Council`s Skills for Life programme. She was keen to apply for one of the School Catering positions. We assisted with the on-line registration and application. She had now completed the 12-week Salus Case Management Programme. She engaged excellently in each session, actively discussing her health and listening to the recommendations made with regards to mental health improvement.
In February 22, she was successful with the NAC application and was invited to an on-line interview. Although extremely nervous about this, with our support on the day of the interview and IT support in accessing the on-line interview she presented well. In March she went on to complete a Sector Based Work Academy achieving 7 accredited qualifications specific to the role. This was an extremely stressful time for her but with our encouragement and support, she managed to achieve this within a 2-week period.
We supported her in completing the relevant paperwork for the required PVG and help her to send the relevant documentation to NAC as this was all required via the NAC on-line portal. Her start date was delayed till the 19th April due to the schools being on holiday for the Easter break but has now settled in to her new role and is enjoying being back in employment.
If you live in North Ayrshire and need employability support please contact us