Dealing with visual impairment – Andrew’s story

When Andrew was referred to the Restart Scheme, he explained his previous struggles of finding a suitable employer with a role to suit his needs. As Andrew suffered from a visual impairment, this was a barrier for him when looking for jobs. He struggled with independently reading through applications and communicating with potential employers.

Our Employment Adviser, Michael took time to get to know Andrew and during his initial appointment, they instantly began building a rapport together. Michael created an action plan with Andrew to work on and use as guidance for each of their weekly meetings, this included courses and areas that Andrew wanted to focus on whilst building up his employability skills.

Andrew joined the Restart Scheme, keen to work on self-development, so he enrolled himself onto several of our in-house courses: self-confidence, transferrable skills, identifying your job, interview skills and a CV workshop, which he successfully completed before applying for jobs. The support he received from the Restart Scheme gave Andrew insight into the types of work that would be suitable for him.

Andrew told us:

“The Restart Scheme is very well put together, it has modern day courses, such as interview skills and transferrable skills, which has helped with my confidence and supported my job search. I’d recommend Reed in Partnership to anybody that is looking to get back into work.”

Andrew has since had two placements from an agency, working from home, which met his job requirements, and he is enjoying being back at work and earning money independently. He is working in a temporary customer service role and speaking to people regularly, which is something he enjoys as part of the job, whilst he continues to search for something permanent.