H was referred to Working Denbighshire by Job Centre Plus as he had previously been employed as a labourer, H was struggling to get back into the construction sector since his CSCS card had expired and was referred to us to find employment that utilised his skillset. Through support from the project H was enrolled onto CPCS training to enhance his skill base and has now found employment on a full time basis which was originally offered as a temporary post demonstrating his excellent work ethic and capabilities to his employer.
H was referred by the job centre as he had been working as a labourer but his temporary work had ended and his CSCS card had expired leaving him unable to get back into this work. H did not have the funds to renew this fully as he had to also complete his Health and Safety training in order to obtain the card. Following an introduction to the project, H reiterated his eagerness to get back into the employment that he knew and start working again, it was apparent that this was quite important to him.
During our initial meeting H had made clear his desires to start work after previously being employed as a labourer, H was unable to continue this line of work once his CSCS card expired which was now impacting his ability to secure permanent work on a construction site, H very much enjoyed this line of work and had found this was something he was particularly good at so we worked together to identify training opportunities locally that would allow him to continue in this field.
It became difficult to identify labourer opportunities despite H being proactive, asking contacts and visiting building sites. We decided to look at alternative routes such as woodwork or joinery which H was very open to. An opportunity became available for H to enrol on a woodwork course at Woodland Skills which was local to the area, and also had the opportunity to receive an accredited qualification in Level 3 Emergency First Aid Training. H thanked me for exploring this route however after looking into this further it was agreed he already had the skillset that would be offered at Woodland Skills. We then made an application to complete his Health and Safety training with a local training provider and also gave him a bus voucher so he could attend. H contacted me to advise he had passed his training and after giving it some thought, explained that he would like to gain a specialist trade but was very confused with what area of construction he wanted to go into so we spent time with him and discussed different options and looked at what work was available in the area. After a couple of meetings had passed, H then told me he had thought it would be advantageous to complete a Telehandler Certificate which would allow him to operate pieces of equipment that were in high demand in the construction industry.
Following discussions with my Manager a Barrier Fund application was made for H to pay for his CPCS card, this would give H the advantage he needed for operating specialist machinery on sites. As H does not have access to his own vehicle, we also funded his taxi travel to and from the training as the bus route was a considerable distance from the training grounds. H was very thankful once again for organising the training and taxi travel, I wished him luck and awaited the results. Unfortunately H had failed the practical assessment of the CPCS test, it was discovered that perhaps completing a lower level course before taking on the more complex CPCS training would have helped H in passing first time, however we agreed to pursue this and put in for his resit. Following the resit H contacted me to tell me he had passed his test!
After a few weeks his certificate arrived in this office so we booked an appointment in where together we looked at opportunities available, a work placement became available with Travis Perkins however H didn’t seem to be interested in this. We continued completing job applications and I had emailed over any positions available that may have been of interest to him, H told me that he had taken up a temporary work placement with Clwyd Alyn housing association focusing on the maintenance side of things, however this was only for 4 weeks. I advised H to focus and put in as much effort and hard work into this as he did with us, and agreed to contact him in a few weeks to see how he got on. A month had passed where I had struggled to contact H, however he contacted me soon after telling me his contract had been extended and has now been offered a permanent position with Clwyd Alyn and thanked me so much for the support we had provided him with and felt comfortable enough to leave the project.
H’s experience with the project demonstrates the hard work that our participants put in to find sustainable employment. After H had failed his test, his determination to succeed and work hard stood out and helped him to secure permanent employment after originally being recruited for a 4-week role. Without intervention from C4W+ H would like have not been able to complete the specialised course which has boosted his confidence in the employment industry.