Ryan* was referred to Just Straight Talk (JST) by his family support worker at Dudley North Family Centre, as they thought that he would benefit from some support to improve his circumstances and find suitable employment.
Ryan had been out of work for more than 7 years when he signed up to the Bridges project. He had given up work to take care of his children, whilst his partner focused on her career. As such, Ryan felt that his employability skills were not as strong as they were and needed support with building up his CV and creating a cover letter. After such a long period of unemployment, Ryan was lacking a sense of direction in terms of job preference.
While being on the project, Ryan worked on identifying opportunities and creating a list of options that could help him in his job search. After narrowing it down, we started putting his CV together and discussing the process of crafting a suitable cover letter. Ryan was enthusiastic to apply for HGV Driver positions, however, he needed a certificate of driving competence (CPC) to be qualified and apply successfully. We supported him to get the necessary funding for his CPC qualification and he obtained them with flying colours!
In addition, Ryan had been struggling financially as there had been a miscommunication between his landlord and the local authority. We helped Ryan resolve this issue and now his tenancy is no longer problematic, and his rent is paid on time.
At the beginning of November, Ryan obtained an interview through an agency, and he passed the training for a driver successfully which resulted in an offer of full-time employment! We are thrilled to learn about this news and are proud of how much Ryan has achieved within the course of a few weeks.
Bridges is funded by the European Social Fund and the National Lottery Community Fund. For more information about the project, please visit stepstowork.co.uk/walsall-bridges/ or contact us on 01922 627555.
*Due to confidentiality, the name of the participant has been changed.
