After leaving school following years of struggling with education, 18-year-old Charlie found himself unemployed – but thanks to the Steps to Employment team, he’s now learning the employability skills needed to find his dream job in hospitality.
Like many others his age, Charlie had never been in paid employment – and without any experience on his CV, he was struggling to even get to interview stage.
Thankfully, Charlie heard about Steps to Employment from a friend. The 18-year-old explained: “I came along with my friend to her Steps to Employment meeting with her employment coach Seb earlier this year. After I told him about struggling with education, we got chatting about getting me into work after”.
He continued: “Seb set me up a separate meeting and we went from there – that’s when I met Charlotte. She overheard a conversation and offered me a place on NLTG’s Employability Skills programme”.
The Employability Skills programme is a 36-week course that provides 16-18 year olds with the skills they need for the rest of their working lives. These skills teach students to communicate with people effectively, work in a team and prioritise tasks – all skills which are the key to workplace success.
Discussing the course, Charlie said: “It’s wonderful. There are brilliant people on the course, and I’ve made quite a few friends. The staff and tutors are great. The tutor gives me all the help I need – he sits down and explains everything”.
Since joining the Employability Skills programme in August, Charlie has already gained his Level 1 certificate in Health and Safety. He’s also well on his way to achieving his Level 1 Maths and Level 1 English over the next few weeks too.
Charlie is hoping that all the skills he’s learning from the course will help him achieve his goal of working in hospitality – he’s even working towards an
Talking about his motivations to get into hospitality, Charlie explained: “When I go for meals, I see how much they’re on their toes. I went to Turtle Bay recently and talked to our waiter who explained the job to me.
“He said every day is different and never the same, so it drew me in. I love a challenge and the idea of every day being different”.
The 18-year-old concluded: “I’d recommend it. If anyone else is in the position I’m in – I’d definitely recommend it. I’d recommend Seb and Charlotte too. They’ve both been great!”
