Sometimes all you need is some good advice and guidance to help to you move forward.
Through a variety of programmes Inspira offer young people enhanced personal 1:1 support to help equip them with the skills they need to get their careers and education on track.
Working with over 20,000 young people a year, here are just a few examples of how we have helped to make a positive difference - Meet Emma, Dillon, Ben, Maxine and Arran.
Emma
Emma was ready to return to college for a third year but due to a mix up with her application she did not get accepted on to the course. Emma who has a learning difficulty and ADHD also struggles with anxiety, required continued support from Inspira to help her progress.
From the start Emma engaged well with our Adviser who encouraged her to take part in any employability events that cropped up along with attended regular support meetings. She was keen to progress into something, but was unsure of what, and acknowledged that she might struggle with the demands of employment.
Working together with our Adviser, Emma identified that a career in childcare was of interest. Our adviser was able to provide more information about this option and supported Emma to apply for a Childcare Traineeship which would provide her with both work experience and help improve her Maths and English. Emma was successful with her application and has settled well into her placement.
Dillon
Dillon originally attended a Pupil Referral Unit and progressed to college but after one year he decided that he did not want to continue in education, preferring to move into ‘hands on’ job.
Unfortunately, his applications for apprenticeships were unsuccessful, but with extra support from his Inspira Adviser, they worked together on ways to improve his CV and his chances of gaining some form of employment.
Dillon took part in groupwork and personal development activities to boost his chances, this included climbing wall and archery activities as well as employability skills, job search advice, application support and interview practice.
With our help he applied for a Process Worker position and was successful.
We contacted Dillon soon after his one-month probation period to see how things were going, he said: "it is hard work, I struggle with shifts, but I’m going to stick it out”.
Ben
Ben was unable to return to college to progress onto the next level course as his Maths and English grades were not high enough.
He was active in his job search and undertook a trial in the hospitality sector but realised that this career path was not for him.
Working with an Inspira Adviser Ben identified that he would really like to pursue a career in early years education. With our support and guidance, he applied for a traineeship and successfully secured a placement in a local primary school. Ben is also receiving support with his Maths and English and is hopeful that this will lead to an apprenticeship.
Maxine
Working closely with one of our partners to ensure a holistic support package was in place, Inspira supported Maxine, a young woman who was recovering from severe mental health issues to re-engage with other young people and eventually college.
Her confidence soon blossomed through the joint work. With support from the dedicated Inspira team, Maxine took part in personal development sessions, orienteering, archery, as well as confidence building and employability activities such as CV building.
In addition, we encouraged and supported Maxine with a visit to a local employer and to look at potential volunteering roles.
In September 2022, Maxine was able to return to college to take up a full-time course. We were delighted to receive and email from her mum thanking us all for our support during her recovery.
Arran
Through Inspira, Arran, a young person looked after by the care system gained valuable work experience to help further his understanding and knowledge ready for a career in IT.
Arran is currently in year 12. His ambition is to go to university or perhaps apply for a higher or degree level apprenticeship. He is doing well in school, and has already undertaken some voluntary work but also wanted to gain valuable work experience in a computer-related environment.
One of our Careers Advisers spent time with Arran to find out more about his future career ambitions and aspirations, and about his wants and needs from the work experience. It was important to narrow down what aspect of IT work he would like to pursue and explain that it might be problematic to find him a placement due to the specialist nature of the work.
However, working with The Link project and Cavendish Nuclear, a local employer partner who has supported Inspira in the past, we were able to secure him one week’s work experience in their IT department. Arran had paperwork to complete ahead of the placement so that the employer could fully understand his level of competence. We also worked with his school to ensure that this was completed on time to make certain Arran was successful in securing the placement.
Arran thoroughly enjoyed the work experience saying: “Tony and Mark were great and were happy to help with anything that I struggled with. I have gained a greater understanding of how databases work and how to create reports from them. I would like to thank the team from Cavendish Nuclear for allowing me to do my work experience with them".
(All names have been changed for confidentiality).
Inspira can help you move forward with your career. We’ll identify skills, strengths, experience, aspirations, and any areas you may wish to develop. Whatever your goal or aims our friendly expert team of advisors can cover your needs.
Let us help you Be Bold, Be Resilient and Be Relevant.
To book a free 1:1 appointment with one of our advisers - email, call us or use our form and we will arrange an online or phone appointment with you.
⮞ Call us on 0345 658 8647
⮞ Email us at info@inspira.org.uk
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