“I didn’t feel like I was capable of getting a job” - Robert's story

Robert had been out of work for three years when he was referred to the Restart Scheme:

“I was referred to the Restart Scheme by the Jobcentre Plus. At the time my mind wasn’t in a good place, as I had anxiety and I didn’t feel like I was capable of getting a job.”

Our Employment Adviser, Sam, recognised that Robert would benefit from more than just employability support, as Robert explained he was struggling with his mental health and personal life at the time. This had resulted in him having low confidence and self-esteem.

Sam told us: “Robert did not have an up-to-date CV and had low confidence when it came to interview skills as he didn’t know where to turn in his career. I wanted to help Robert in whatever way I could, so I did a lot of research around the barriers Robert had to get a better understanding of how we could help.“

Sam worked closely with Robert by creating an action plan to prioritise and help him cope with his personal life and mental health. Sam explained: “At the time, Robert had a lot of things going on at home, yet he didn’t let this get in the way of his goals to gain employment, and better his life, future, and independence.”

Sam enrolled Robert onto several of our in-house courses on the Restart Scheme, including Reboot Your CV, Transferrable Skills, and Interview Skills. This supported him with the preparation for applying for job roles.

Once Robert was ‘job ready’, we were able to provide vouchers for new interview clothes and reimburse his travel costs.  Sam said: “We worked together to get the support he needed through therapy sessions at Working Minds, and counselling with Reed Wellbeing. Robert regularly attended Employment Skills Training courses and the transformation in him was phenomenal.

"We managed to get Robert a two-week training course with Hertfordshire College where he obtained qualifications in customer service for a large retailer, along with mental health awareness, employability, and food safety workshops.

"Following Robert’s first interview, he had two department managers fighting over who would get Robert on their team - this just shows what a positive impact Robert had not just on his classmates but also the employer.”

During an in-work support call, Robert told us:

“I would recommend the Restart Scheme to anybody that wants help with employment. I participated in several courses through the Restart Scheme, and they were great in supporting me with my mental wellbeing, which helped me on my journey to get back into work. I’ve now successfully got a full-time position in Retail Operations, and I am really enjoying it. “