European Social Fund in England

Finding the groove

Region: West Sussex

Funding: Co-Financed by Jobcentre Plus

Target groups: Mental Health, Substance Misuse, Learning Disabilities, Physical & Sensory Impairment/and or Acquired Brain Injury

Finding The Groove

Giving up benefits to return to education and employment can be daunting unless you have a clear goal in mind.

Lee Freeman was recovering from severe and enduring mental health problems and using the facilities of Worthing MIND when he was introduced to the West Sussex Pathways to Work project and its Vocational Worker Jenny James in August 2004.

Pathways To Work helps people in West Sussex who have mental health needs, drug or alcohol dependency, physical or sensory impairment, acquired brain injury or learning difficulties to access education, training and work opportunities.

Lee had acquired many skills in his previous work in the Airforce, first as a driver and then in training in care work. Jenny helped him to recognise how many of these skills were transferable to other work situations and Lee was quite open to possibilities of work in either of these areas. Jenny encouraged him to take on his own job search by phoning and responding to adverts himself. As he followed up several opportunities his confidence increased and he decided to apply to the Driving Standards Agency for a job as a driving examiner. This was Lee's first 'online' application and he was short-listed for theory and practical tests. Although Lee did not pass the practical test he passed the theory and was given a lot of positive feedback which encouraged him and taught him a lot.

Lee's next step was to attend a Working With Others course, run by Sussex Careers for the Pathways To Work project. The course examined different aspects of group interaction and Lee began to recognise the people skills he has, through some of the exercises and through feedback from other course participants and the tutor.

Lee was rethinking the kind of work he would like to do and his next step was to look at voluntary work. This would allow him to understand what different jobs involved without committing himself to one thing. He looked at the CAB, Impact Advocacy Service, hospital radio and the Asphaleia project. Jenny also introduced him to the Adult Options 'Pathfinder' skill search computer programme to help him get a clearer profile of his skills and the kind of work suited to him.

This was a real turning point for Lee as one of the job suggestions was Learning Support Assistant. He was immediately interested in this and Jenny helped him to investigate voluntary opportunities through West Sussex Learning Links, local colleges, Adult Education and Sussex Careers.

Lee started as Learning Support with Sussex Careers on the Pathways To Work courses and the tutor noticed that Lee had a natural gift for this kind of work. He formed excellent working relationships with his students and seemed to have found a source of patience in himself which he says comes from his own difficult experiences. She suggested he think about training possibilities and he enrolled on the City and Guilds 9295 Adult Learner Support course at Chichester College which he started in October 2005.

Lee feels that he knows this is definitely the right career path for him. He has had the confidence to present his experience to a Pathways To Work Information Day audience and has taken the initiative in finding LSA roles outside of Pathways To Work with West Sussex Adult Education in an ESOL class. As Lynne Baker's LSA on two Sussex Careers courses he was able to develop his work with her as she progressed from Pathways To Work to a mainstream Counselling course. Lynne says that without the trust that Lee had built with her she would not have felt confident to take on a mainstream course.