In October 2016, Daniel from Billingham who was currently unemployed and finding it hard to gain employment, decided to attend Five Lamps Ready to Work clubs which were held within Billingham Job Centre.
The aim of the clubs which are held over a period of six sessions are to; provide unemployed people within Stockton- on-Tees with a place to; meet, exchange skills, share experiences, find opportunities, make contacts and get support to help them in their return to work.
Each session focused on a different topic such as; self-employment, volunteering, debt management, help with CVs and interview techniques and a visit to the Warburtons factory.
Over the six sessions, Daniel received one to one help with Five Lamps Employment Coach, Miles Keith. From day one Daniel seemed a very knowledgable and capable individual willing to turn his hand to many differing skills particularly around construction and demolition. More recently he has been taking a hands on roll, looking after three demanding children and now he feels the time is right for a move forward.
Following a network meeting with a few friends he was made aware of a possible job opportunity at a national transport company, Stagecoach.
Daniel completed an application to Stagecoach and was invited to attend an interview. With the skills received from the Ready to Work Club sessions, he impressed all parties concerned and this resulted in an offer of full-time employment.
Quote from Daniel;
“I have been unemployed since February of this year and was somewhat reluctant to move away from my current situation. As a result of the course my confidence has increased ten fold and I would like to thank Warburtons and Five Lamps for assisting my move towards the next stage of my working life”
In May 2016, Five Lamps received a donation from Warburtons Bakery for £10,000 to deliver a Ready for work project in Stockton-On-Tees, if you would like more information, please contact amybaker@fivelamps.org.uk