Paul writes about his journey to employment. Fay is the Enterprise Coach in Crewe.
I got laid off at Christmas 2008 from working in the warehouse at Argos in Cheltenham. Previously I had enjoyed working in the construction industry, and ideally wanted to get back into that line of work, either employed or self employed.
I was looking every where I could get my hands on for jobs, including at the job centre, in the paper and on the internet. There seemed to be more jobs in the Northwest area so I moved to Crewe where I could also be with my partner. I mentioned at the Crewe job centre that I wanted my CSCS card so they sent me to Stanguide where I got my manual handling certificate and they helped me with my CV. A friend also mentioned to me that it would look good on my CV if I did some voluntary work. I went to the volunteer centre in Crewe and met with Sam. She was great and contacted the Multiple Sclerosis Society. I went along to see them and started helping with the pool exercise classes.
This was the best experience of my life. It was great to give my time and not worry about getting paid for it. I would recommend volunteering to anyone; I met some great friends from it. Since then I have loved volunteering and have looked for other opportunities.
When I was at Stanguide they mentioned a jobs fair which was being held at the Manchester Met Crewe campus in April so I went along. Unfortunately there weren’t many jobs there but there were lots of training providers. There I picked up a leaflet about the Enterprise Coaching project in Crewe and I arranged to meet with Fay to discuss starting up my own construction business. Although we only had one meeting it was very helpful and I got a lot from it and came away with things to think about. Although I decided not to start up a business, I know where to go back to in the future.
I also got a leaflet for another jobs fair at Webby’s run by the New Leaf Partnership for the new extra care village vacancies. From there I got a place with the Disability Information Bureau for a 2 week course which provided training and an insight into the care industry. As a result of the training I got an interview with Housing 21 which was good practice.
During the training, Colin from Christian Concern Crewe came in to do some fire safety training and mentioned they had some volunteer vacancies if anyone was interested. So I spoke to Colin and signed up. I had set days and times I was required to come in to work as part of a team. This was great in terms of getting back into a work routine as the team relied on me to be there, and also I made new friends who I have stayed in contact with.
At the end of July, after 6 months of looking for work, a family member told me about a factory job at Marshfield Industrial estate. I went for an interview at 9.00am on the Friday and started work on the Monday! I really love going to work, it’s very varied and I’ve found somewhere that is prepared to invest in my training, personal development and future employment. I hope I will be able to stay there. This experience has taught me not to sit on the sofa and expect work to find you, you have to go out and find it! There were various times when I felt like giving up, especially when I got rejection letters, but I kept going and volunteering meant that I didn’t get bored. I looked at all options for employment which were suited to my skills and qualifications. My advice to others would be not to give up, keep asking family and friends, local companies, take part time work if available and volunteer to stay active and keep your CV up to date, and just keep looking!
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I love dogs, all dogs so I decided to start a dog walking business. Having cats particularly one that needs constant attention means that I can’t have dogs myself. The cost of medical care for my sick cat led me to think about setting up my business.
“Setting up my own business has been probably the most challenging and fulfilling things I have ever done. 
Members of community organisations and Blacon residents met on 11 June to hear the findings of a research project into young people and enterprise carried out by University of Chester student, Danielle Gillick. Danielle, who is 20 years of age and from the West Midlands, is in her second year at the University where she is studying for a degree in English Literature. As part of her course, Danielle participated in a 5 week work placement at Blacon Community Trust in Chester where she worked as a member of the Enterprise Coaching team which provides free and confidential advice and support to people considering self employment/business start-up. Danielle’s findings revealed that young people were attracted to selfemployment / business start-up mainly because they liked the idea of being their own boss and the financial reward it might bring. Negatives included concern about the financial issues involved in running a business and the threat caused by rival companies.
