Taking that step – Ian’s story

“My journey began with the Restart Scheme, when I met my Employment Adviser, Jamie, who was able to identify my barriers to employment and encouraged me with a plan to overcome them.

“Jamie kindly introduced me to the skills academy and recommended some useful courses. I attended the induction with Derek, which I found very useful, it was at that point I knew Restart could help me.

“When I first met Jamie, I was going through a difficult time in my life regarding health issues and depression, but Jamie has always been there to help me, and has given me the confidence and self-belief to get back to work. He suggested a referral to their Reed Wellbeing team should I need specialist support. As he was so motivating, I didn’t feel that I needed it but always knew it was there if needed.

“During my job search journey, it was identified that my IT skills weren’t great, and Jamie was able to support me by directing me to a free course with the digital college, to upskill my IT knowledge. This provided me with the skills, tools, and techniques that I needed to be able to apply for jobs effectively. Jamie was then able to help me create a new CV as I had previously handwritten it; he was able to guide me on how to tailor it to specific jobs that we had looked at together.

“My next step weas to attend the job fair; I didn’t really know what to expect as it had been a long time. Jamie listened to my concerns and reassuringly explained that there would be employers attending that would love to meet me. This filled me with great confidence and finally I had something to focus my mind on.

“Jamie was able to pay for interview clothes for me to wear on the day, so that I felt and looked my best when approaching employers. At the Jobs fair I was able to meet Mainstream, who were happy to book me onto a CPC course so that I could get back into HGV driving. Once my training was complete, I was successful in obtaining my first job interview in years with Wren Kitchens, who offered me the job join their team as 7.5-ton lorry driver. I’m starting with Wren next week!

“I would like to thank the Restart Scheme for all their help, but especially Jamie, my Employment Adviser.”