Two years ago, James started as a volunteer with us at our FareShare Glasgow and the West of Scotland depot following a period of low self-esteem and isolation during Covid19. During his time building confidence and volunteering James quickly learned about our Training For Work programme. This offers participants the opportunity to be part of a supportive team of staff and volunteers in a live working environment with a variety of 1-1 support and group sessions.
After seeing the programme in action, James signed up for the next round. Recalling his time on this course James stated;
“I would recommend the course for young people, it could help them build confidence, gain work experience and build their CV. I enjoyed working on the floor when I was on the group and all the jokes and laughs we had up in the training room.”
Working alongside our Development Workers, James started to notice positive progression;
“I got more confident in myself and the work I was doing every other week. I could notice the difference in myself.”
James’ progression personally and professionally was recognised by staff, and he was offered a six-month trail as a Warehouse Operative in the depot! Here, James threw himself into further training opportunities such as passing our in-house forklift training programme and currently taking part in our DETS (Drivers Employability Training Scheme).
To top this off, through Glasgow Guarantee James has commenced a two-year contract as a Warehouse Operative at the very depot he began as a volunteer! To look back where James started with us and where he is now; James has worked extremely hard developing his self-esteem and qualifications to make his CV shine!
Glasgow Guarantee offers direct access to lots of employment opportunities and additional training, either through a job or modern apprenticeship. Opportunities pay the real living wage and are available with local businesses and Glasgow City Council.
We caught up with James on how his job is going;
“My placement is going well. I am enjoying what I do, meeting the new people who come in and helping them learn how the depo works.”
