Employment

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

Luke had attended a number of job interviews via the Job Centre; however, none had resulted in employment. Fortunately one day whilst accessing the Job Centre, he met with Five Lamps YEI Support Worker, Anne Rookes.

Anne advised Luke that Five Lamps currently have a project where they are supporting 15-29 year olds progress into long term training, employment and education.

Each young person is supported individually according to their needs, however the support can include; help with interview techniques, support with training, travel expenses to interviews and also financial support with interview clothing.

Luke welcomed the support and quickly began working with Anne Rookes to identify his long term career goals, which was eventually to join the Army. Luke attended North Shore Academy, achieving Travel and Tourism Level 1 and a BTEC Level 1 Construction, Fire and Rescue.  Luke also attended Stockton Riverside College, achieving both Maths and English Level 2.

Anne contacted MPC Teesside (Military Preparation College) and an appointment was made for Luke to speak to staff about his long term career goals.  Unfortunately it was identified that this wasn’t the right time to pursue his career within the Army and Anne continued to support Luke to identify different job opportunities.

After visiting local supermarkets and Café/bars, Luke successfully secured employment at the café in Billingham. Luke is very happy with his new employment and is extremely popular with the staff there. Although, Luke has now gained employment, Anne still continues to keep in touch with Luke, offering information, advice and guidance.

Luke said;

“Without the support of Anne and the Youth Employment Initiative Project, I would most definitely still be visiting the local job Centre.”

The Tees Valley Pathways and Routeways programmes form part of the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI). This is part-funded by the European Social Fund through the 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme in England.

The program aims to support young people across the Tees Valley aged 15-29 who are unemployed and/or not in educations, employment or training until the end of July 2020.

YEI can also offer support for Business Start Ups, if you would like to find out more, please contact the YEI team on; 01642 753511.

Cycling into Work

Leon is 21 years old and has joined Virgin Money Ready for work clubs following a somewhat challenging life story to date.

He arrived in the United Kingdom from Africa a few months ago having been separated from his family for ten of his formative years.

He recently completed his ‘form four’ (GCSE equivalent) in Zimbabwe and was looking for any opportunity to increase his life skills and a direction towards full time employment.

Whilst at school, he was playing football at a senior level and was reputed to be the driving force in the team ‘White Birds and the Merlin’ which achieved division 2 status in Zimbabwe.

Upon his arrival within the UK, his Mother contacted Five Lamps to find out more about the Virgin Money Ready for work clubs after hearing about their services.

Leon successfully completed the six sessions; however Five Lamps felt that he required further training and specific interaction within his interest of football. He was signposted to Street League, where he could mix his sporting prowess along with the knowledge he had taken away from the work clubs to gain work experience and apprenticeship opportunities.

Street League helped Leon with volunteering opportunities within football coaching and he also attended a course in warehousing.

With all of his newfound knowledge, skills and experience, Leon applied for a job within Tesco as a Warehouse Assistant. His application was a success and he received a job offer.

Unfortunately, although this was extremely good news for Leon, the job opportunity was over 17 miles from his home and would require him taking three buses and then walking 20 minutes to his work destination. His shift patterns would also mean that on some occasions buses would not be available.

However, to overcome this barrier, Five Lamps were able to secure him a pushbike through the Miss W E Lawrence Trust.  The pushbike is also foldable to ensure he can transport it on a bus if required.

Leon said;

“Having arrived in the country only a few months ago, the prospect of any training or employment seemed impossible. But thanks to Virgin Money Foundation and Five Lamps, my confidence and options have really increased and I am very grateful to them for assisting my move into full time employment”

If you would like more information on Five Lamps Ready for work clubs, please contact us on 01642 608316.

Adam is back on the tracks

In June 2017, Adam from Billingham was unemployed and finding it difficult to gain employment. He decided to attend the Five Lamps Ready to Work clubs which were held at Five Lamps, Dovecot Street.

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 into employment.

Each session was focused on a different topic such as; self-employment, volunteering, debt management, help with CV’s and interview techniques. Concluding with a visit to the Hitachi Rail Factory in Newton Aycliffe.

Over the six sessions Adam received one to one help with Five Lamps Employment Coach, Miles Keith, who helped Adam any way he could.

Miles said;

“From day one Adam seemed a very knowledgeable and capable individual who had already experienced a number of differing skills.”

After leaving college he had sampled life as a trainee welder and worked in a Butcher shop but all on short term contracts. Following an internet job hunt session at Five Lamps he was made aware of a possible job opportunity at a major fast food organisation.

Adam completed an application to McDonalds Restaurant 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!

Adam said;

“I have been unemployed since June 2016 and always felt the need to be financially secure. As a result of the course, my confidence has increased and I’d like to thank TransPennine Express and Five Lamps for assisting my move forward.”

In May 2017, Five Lamps received a donation from TransPennine Express for £5000 to deliver Ready to clubs to unemployed young people aged 16-25 years old.

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

In May 2016, Five Lamps were awarded a £10,000 donation from Warburtons to deliver “Ready to Work clubs” in Stockton-On-Tees.

The aim of the clubs 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.

The first “Ready to work club” was delivered in Tilery Primary School and included six sessions held over a six week period. 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.

The Warburtons Bakery visit, gave attendees a taste of being an employee with Warburtons; as they received a tour of the factory by the Warburtons Quality Manager who talked them through the quality processes and the job roles of each member of staff on the factory floor.

They then got to meet with the HR team who discussed the Warburtons recruitment processes and the behaviours they look for when recruiting employees.

As well as receiving a goody bag of Warburtons food products, the visit to the Bakery was an overall success with each attendee believing the visit had increased their ability of securing employment.

The “Ready to work clubs” will be running up until November 2016, and will be held in the following venues;

South Thornaby Community Centre (Thornaby) – July 25, (12-30 – 3-30pm) July 26 (9.30am-12.30pm)
New Life Centre, Billingham- August 4, 11, 18,25th (11am-1pm)
Sunrise Centre Children’s Centre- October 3, 10, 17 and 24th (9.30am-11am)
Freddie Natrass Primary School (Norton) – October 4, 11, 18, and November 1st (12.30-2pm)
Redhill Children’s Centre (Roseworth) – October 4, 11, 18, November 1st (9.30-11am)
Star Children’s Centre- October 6, 13, 2 and November 3rd (12.30-2pm)
Footsteps Children’s Centre (Billingham) – October 6, 13, 20, November 3 (9.30-11am)
High Flyers Children’s Centre (Thornaby)- October 10,17,24,31 (1-2.30pm)

If you would be interested in attending one of the sessions, please contact info@fivelamps.org.uk

Marie lives in Thornaby, Stockton- on- Tees

She has five children and has worked hard to provide a secure, loving home for them all.

Marie has worked most of her life with short periods at home with her  family, relying on grandparents for child care when she returned to work. She has experience in hospitality, production as a machine operator and customer service.

Marie continued to work as her children became independent; they are all adults now with their own homes and have their mother’s strong work ethic. Marie instilled this work ethic and encouraged them to be resourceful and ambitious.

Marie expected she would continue to work until she retired.However, due to the recession she was made redundant in 2011 and a   although very disappointed, felt sure she would quickly secure a further post. However sadly this was not the case as Marie spent two years completing job search and applications but to no avail. She didn’t know where to turn to for help.

Marie explained her bubbly demeanour was diminished as the stress and the worry of increasing expenses and long term unemployment grew. Marie shared her fears with Emma Fox, Job Centre Adviser, who referred Marie to Five Lamps’ Family Wise Project which is funded by the European Social Fund.

Marie worked with Jane Simpson, Five Lamps Family Coach to create an action plan, tailored around her strengths, aspirations and the challenges she faced.

Jane provided intensive support to improve Marie’s progress through one to one holistic support. She also provided advice and guidance around the identified challenges Marie faced, including housing Issues, money management and the training she required to improve her employment progress. This included establishing an employability portfolio, health and safety, food hygiene and ICT programme.

Jane also referred Marie to Cool Blue training provider Nathan Pellow to complete employer led training.

Marie became proficient in job search and gaining skills in IT changed her style of application. She became competent in navigating around the Universal Job Match Site and sending CV’s and cover letters by email. She was determined and extremely disciplined, attending her training programmes.

Marie secured employer led current qualifications and this and her positive attitude have enabled her to progress and ultimately secure employment. She secured a permanent position with Bannatyne Health & Fitness as a Cleaning Operative and is delighted and thrilled to have her feeling of independence returned.

Marie expressed her thanks to Five Lamps and the family wise project. She is very grateful for all the support provided and explained

“I could not have done it without the encouragement and support of her Family Wise Coach and Tutors”

Family Wise is funded from the European Social Fund Support for Families with Multiple Problems contract. Delivered by Five Lamps across Stockton, Middlesbrough and Redcar & East Cleveland

David Stoker, 53 who lives in Billingham, Stockton- on- Tees has always had a passion to improve the environment and to instil a sense of pride to our streets and our community

His ultimate goal is to secure employment in this sector.

When David found himself redundant he felt completely lost and feeling that he no longer had a purpose, he became depressed. Despite completing job search each day, the months of unemployment turned to years and David felt terribly despondent and alone.

He didn’t know where to turn until he talked to his adviser Heather Whitfield at Billingham Job Centre. Heather introduced David to the Five Lamps where he was referred to the Family Wise Project, which is funded by the European Social Fund.

David was referred to Five Lamps’ Family Coach Jane Simpson to create an action plan tailored around his strengths, aspirations and the challenges he faced. Jane Identified David’s strong desire to utilise his skills to work in the community and his passion for placing a pride in our streets and towns by keeping it free from waste, hazards and litter.

Jane provided intensive support to improve David’s wellbeing and self-esteem, as well as assisting him with a CV writing service which included one to one support on cover letters, coaching on applications and interview techniques and information on voluntary placements and voluntary recruitment organisations.

Jane supported David with voluntary placement applications and also referred David to the Family Wise Job Club where he received additional support from Robert Finley, Volunteer Job Club Support Worker to register on Universal Job search, navigation round this site and support to complete job search history.

David reinforced his aspirations to progress to work and that he would happily volunteer and said:

“I want to feel useful, work hard and lead a good life, that’s not a lot to ask for”

David anxiously waited for a response from the voluntary groups and then a call came from Stockton Borough Council, inviting David to an interview with Barry Lancaster as a volunteer with Care for Your Area. Jane supported David, preparing him for the interview, advising him to discuss his skills and to explain why he wanted to work within this sector.

David received the news he longed to hear. He had successfully secured a voluntary position and felt overwhelmed, relieved and proud.

Dawn Pearce is a 31 year old mum, living in Stockton with her young son who is in his first year at Primary School

Dawn became increasingly aware of her poor functional skills, (Literacy, Numeracy and IT ability) and felt it was time to improve these further in order to; support her child as he progresses and also to improve her management of the family expenses. Due to redundancy and the raised cost of living it has been difficult for Dawn to manage the family budget. Dawn has a strong work ethic and also aspired to complete further training to improve her employability.

Dawn regretted not being committed to education in senior school and wondered where she could progress to develop her functional skills and employment training. She had heard of Five Lamps and called into their building at 32 Dovecot Street in Stockton Town Centre, to enquire on how she could register and progress.

She was referred to the Family Wise Project which seeks to help people to move into employment and is funded through the European Social Fund. It can provide support with; employability skills, debt and money management, personal and social development and work experience, including volunteering.

Dawn worked with Jane Simpson, Family Wise coach to create an action plan tailored around her strengths, aspirations and the challenges she faced. Jane identified the training Dawn required to improve her employment chances, which included establishing an employability portfolio, health and safety, food hygiene, ICT programme and Numeracy and Literacy. Jane also provided a CV writing service which included one to one support with cover letters, applications and Interview techniques.

Dawn was determined and extremely disciplined, attending her training programmes until she completed and passed with flying colours. She now has a current employability portfolio and training required to support her young son with his homework and to increase her employment progress.

Dawn said:

“I am very grateful for all the support provided by Five Lamps as I could not have done it without the encouragement and support of Jane and my tutors”

Family Wise is funded from the European Social Fund Support for Families with Multiple Problems contract. Delivered by Five Lamps across Stockton, Middlesbrough and Redcar & East Cleveland.

Lisa Matthews is a 36 year old Stockton mum of two who faces with, her husband who has difficulties of ill health, the increased cost of living and long term unemployment

Due to a long term condition, Lisa was unable to attend mainstream school and always felt disadvantaged. She left School early without any qualifications. As her children have progressed, her personal drive and ambition to develop her skills has grown so she made the first steps and called into Five Lamps’ building at 32 Dovecot Street in Stockton to enquire about available courses.

Lisa was referred to the Family Wise project, which is funded by the European Social Fund. She worked with Jane Simpson, Five Lamps’ Family Coach to create an action plan tailored around her strengths, aspirations and the challenges she faced.

Jane identified the training Lisa required to remove barriers and to improve her confidence and self-esteem. She referred Lisa to a Literacy and Numeracy course with Ingeus and IT programme with Five Lamps. Lisa also completed an employability portfolio which she can use to progress to voluntary work as her condition permits. This included; Food Hygiene, Health & Safety and Customer Service training which was provided by Cool Blue.

Jane also provided a CV writing service which included one to one support on cover letters, coaching on applications and interview techniques and information on voluntary placements and voluntary recruitment organisations including VIVA volunteering and doit.org.

Despite Lisa’s difficulties she attended the training each week, showing determination which resulted in her passing her training courses. With her new found confidence, Lisa is looking towards securing a voluntary work placement to further improve her skills.

Lisa said:

“Five Lamps has helped a lot, I am very grateful to be given the opportunity to develop my skills, learn new ones and to be given the support to make it all possible”

Family Wise is funded from the European Social Fund support for families with Multiple Problems contract.