Callum was referred to Five Lamps Youth Employment initiative (YEI) in July 2018 to work intensively with Five Lamps, Support Worker, Darren Iveson, with the aim of progressing him into employment. Callum was 21 years old at the time of the referral and was living in Thornaby.
Unfortunately Callum had been bullied at school, which had affected his self-confidence, which led to him having poor attendance when he went on to study catering at Stockton Riverside College and eventually he dropped out of the course.
When Darren first met Callum he was still struggling with anxiety, but still had an interest in pursuing a career in catering. Darren supported Callum to update his CV and then he went onto contact local employers to engage with them to see if any of them had any catering vacancies. Anson Farm in Thornaby were interested in interviewing Callum for the position as a Chef and Darren is pleased to report that Callum was successful at gaining this position.
The YEI team went out for lunch at Anson Farm and Callum came out of the kitchen to thank the team for their support in finding him a permanent job. Callum said,
“I am really enjoying my new role and it was all thanks to the support of your YEI team.”
The Tees Valley Pathways & Routeways Programmes (YEI) are part-funded by the European Social Fund and supported under the Youth Employment Initiative