Helping Clinton to find rewarding work after long-term unemployment

Clinton was referred to Renaisi as part of the Southwark Works employment-support programme. He had been unemployed for eight years due to an injury at work. Not working had affected his confidence but he really wanted a job. Employment advisor, Trevor Grant, supported Clinton to build his confidence and get a vital NHS role.

Employability group session — Trevor running a Job Club for people interested in hospitality and healthcare vacancies before Covid-19.

When Clinton and I first met we had a conversation about what he had done before and what he wanted to do now. Clinton had enjoyed working as a delivery driver but felt he would not be able to do it again because he couldn’t do heavy lifting since his injury at work.

He told me that he wanted to explore other driving roles and that he would need support with completing application forms. He wasn’t confident about attending group classes, so we wrote into his action plan that we’d do one-to-one job search and application-writing sessions.

We put together an action plan with every customer to help us focus on what the customer wants to achieve and to give structure to our conversations.

Clinton said:

“Other providers just didn’t seem interested. They seemed like a business not a service for the public. But Trevor’s customer service is good, he’s very polite, a nice guy.”

Finding work with the NHS

We collaborate and share roles with local partners. Get Set UK had medical transport roles so after a few sessions with Clinton I talked to him about doing some work cleaning and delivering ambulances.

Clinton was interested so we arranged for him to meet with the employer. This role required a DBS check so it took some time from the application process to interview stage. I kept in touch with Clinton during that time to reassure him there was something in motion and to keep helping him with other barriers to work. Over that time, I could see that Clinton was growing in confidence and seemed very motivated to get this job.

We finally got the news that Clinton had a date to meet with the employer, I helped him prepare for the interview using National Careers Service tools and by helping him to focus in on his personal strengths and previous experience. When the time came, he told me he felt good about going to meet with the employer.

Interview success

I am so pleased that Clint was successful with the interview. He’s now working on a full-time basis cleaning and transporting ambulances around London. What a hero!

Clinton said:

“I recommend lots of people to get in touch with Renaisi. I wish I found them a long time ago, they really helped me out and Trevor is a lovely guy, I talk to him still.”

Trevor remained in contact with Clint to help him sustain the role, develop his skills and look to the future.