Cem gives retail a go and gets kept on!
Cem’s employment history has been working within the construction industry, something which he has done for most of his adult life, for over 30 years. He has been a labourer, ground worker, plasterer, and at one point has worked on construction sites in Germany.
More recently Cem started to get dizzy spells and blackouts and as a result is currently on medication and therefore unable to work at heights, which has meant he has not been able to work within construction any more.
So, Cem referred himself to Working Denbighshire where he was signed up on to the Communities For Work Plus (C4W+) project and mentored by Tom.
Tom contacted Cem and discussed what Cem felt he could do and if any training would help him, bearing in mind that construction work was now unfeasible for Cem due to his medical condition. Cem said he would really like to work in retail, as he felt he could do this. Cem also wanted to add a few up to date training certificates on to his CV.
Tom submitted a couple of funding requests for Cem to do Health & Safety In The Workplace and Manual Handling courses online. He was able to complete both of these and received the certificates, and we updated his CV to include this training.
Tom was made aware via Workstart that there was a 4-week unpaid work placement available at The Range store in Rhyl. Tom spoke to Cem about it at Cem was very keen to be put forward for it. Shortly after, Cem was accepted on to the 4-week unpaid placement.
To support him, C4W+ paid for suitable clothes for Cem to wear on his placement, he got trousers, two polo tops and a pair of smart black shoes to wear. Bus tickets were also issued.
Tom phoned Cem every week to see how he was getting on, Cem said he was loving it at The Range, was really enjoying meeting people, getting out of the house, and his mental well-being was improved as he was active. Cem said he had been working on different departments in the store and that other members of staff had been asking for him. In addition, he has also been asked to do extra shifts, including weekends and bank holiday.
At the end of the 4 weeks Cem informed Tom that The Range had offered him an 8 hour a week contract which he has accepted, and that he is actually working around 30 hours a week at the moment.
On Friday 11th June, Rachel Wood Brignall emailed Tom and Managers to inform that Cem had met with the Minister of Commerce & Employment at The Range as part of a DWP visit, and that Cem had mentioned the support from Tom and Working Denbighshire and that a newsletter article will be released.
Anyone who is willing to offer themselves to do unpaid work for 4 weeks deserves to be kept on in a paid positon, and this is what happened to Cem, so well done Cem!!