Due to not being able to find a job, I decided that I should look for programmes that would let me perform in an office environment while I searched for a job. 

I have mostly been in education which included college and university. After leaving university I couldn’t find a job during Covid so I tried doing voluntary work until I could get a job.  I applied to Liverpool in Work for the 12-week NHS Pre Employment programme with Hugh Baird College and Liverpool Royal Hospital which went well.

The college aspect was good helping me to have a routine and the college staff were very supportive. The Employability Training, Customer Service, Mental Health and Deaf-Blind lessons were interesting.  I completed a placement within the NHS Trust and I was supported by Ben from the Widening Participation Team who made sure I had all I needed for volunteering in the workplace.

Emma helped us search for opportunities by sending us emails with interesting jobs she had found and Emma also helped me by doing a mock interview. Due to this support, I applied for a Merseyside Police Apprenticeship and I passed the interview!

I have been out of work for some time so I’m excited to get back into it and to perform to my best. The programme has helped me get used to being back into an office background with will help me get used to working again. My role is permanent if I am successful within the 18 month’s of training. So, I will be happy if I complete the training successfully.

Most likely I will be in the same role for a few years so I can get some experience and maybe apply for a data analyst role, or something relating to database or maybe try in working in computer networking. But for now, I’m focused on completing my training and improving as a person, in a professional way.

What Lewis’s proud Mum thinks

Katy Morris is Lewis’s proud mum. She called the Liverpool in Work manager in October, as she wanted to provide feedback and praise for a member of the team, Emma Donaldson, who had helped Lewis to find work.

Lewis is 26 and worked in the NHS before going to University. But he has taken a few knocks over the past few years. When Covid hit with all the limitations of lockdown, he really struggled. He was offered a short course with a chance of a job but was let down, and this was just one in a series of blows that took their toll on Lewis. When he had recovered enough to start to look forward to things again, Katy contacted Liverpool in Work for support. She had heard about the team through her workplace, and followed them on Facebook, so she knew they helped people to find suitable work or training. What she didn’t expect was the level of support she and Lewis would receive.

Lewis was introduced to Emma Donaldson who is one of Liverpool in Work’s Recruitment Advisers. Katy said, “Emma was kind, caring and considerate to Lewis’s needs from the start. I know he has great qualities, but I’m his mum. But Emma could see that too. She could see that he had just had a rough time and had been let down and just needed a chance, and she went out of her way to help him.”

Emma has excellent links with businesses in the city and works with the NHS and Hugh Baird College to offer the NHS Pre-Employment programme, a short training course with a hospital placement and chance of work at the end. Lewis started the programme, completing his Administration placement at Broadgreen Hospital.

During the course and after it, Emma shared lots of jobs with Lewis and helped him with interview techniques. She went out of her way to help and followed up with Lewis, not letting him give up when he faced any rejection following interviews.

Emma would follow up with Lewis and provide further interview support and new opportunities.  One such chance came in the form of an Apprentice Clerical Officer role at Merseyside Police, that Emma helped Lewis to apply for. Following a long recruitment process and vetting procedure, Lewis got the job!

He started in September 2023 and has settled in well and loves his job as he gets to spend time in various locations across the Merseyside area. Katy says it is the perfect job for him. Katy added, “I can’t thank Emma enough for all she did for Lewis.  She worked so hard to keep him motivated and she brought him back to himself. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”