'Working for a professional and supportive employer like Halfords has increased Amy’s confidence and motivation.'

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The Local Supported Employment service helps unemployed residents, like Amy, who live in Hertfordshire and have been diagnosed with a learning disability or autism, into paid work. Her mentor, Jonathan explains;

‘Amy joined our service in August 2024 having already been on work tasters with several companies. Her goal was to secure a paid position and was recommended Step2Skills to achieve her goal of finding paid employment. Amy had been attending several interviews for retail positions in her locality but had been unsuccessful in passing this recruitment stage.

Amy needed a positive role model to support her and to help learn how to conduct herself at interviews. Our service has trained Employment Advisors and professionals that provide constructive feedback with answering interview questions effectively.

I was given the opportunity to prepare Amy for her first work opportunity by understanding her skills, aspirations, and goals. Amy had a desire to work in a local retail role, so I placed her into her local Co-Op store to gain more work experience in this field. Amy excelled in the role and was given the opportunity to try different responsibilities in the store. At the end of the work taster, Amy had gained confidence in knowing that a retail role was what she wanted.

Following that, I worked on a weekly basis with Amy, looking for a local supportive employer who would support Amy with her disability and make allowances for her working hours and shift patterns. I supported Amy with being able to search for jobs confidently, create a CV and improve her interview technique.

Working together we identified the type of working roles Amy would like to do and applied for Halfords in Stevenage. She successfully passed an interview with Halfords and was delighted to start as a Sales Advisor.

Two months later, Amy is performing well in the placement thanks to both the support from Step2Skills and the excellent inhouse training that Halfords and Co-Op have provided.

Working for a professional and supportive employer like Halfords has increased Amy’s confidence and motivation. Having now found her first paid career opportunity in retail, Amy is enjoying working in a position that is suitable for her needs.'

 

 

Amy

Employment Support participant, 2024

This experience has truly shown me that, with the right support, I can succeed and thrive in a working environment.

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I worked as a care assistant for 21 years. Unfortunately, when my supportive manager left, I was eventually dismissed from my role. After nearly two years out of work, I visited the Job Centre and was introduced to Step2Skills. Through this program, I received support from Alison, my Employment Advisor, who helped me find a new job.

When I first started working at Berkhamsted Fire Station, I was very anxious. My manager was patient, understanding, and very supportive. After a few weeks, I gained confidence and began to see that I could perform my duties independently. I now feel relaxed and happy in my role. Since starting work with Samsic, I’ve grown in confidence and now know that I’m capable of taking on more hours and further responsibilities. This experience has truly shown me that, with the right support, I can succeed and thrive in a working environment.

John

Employment Support participant, 2025

Since we have been working with Step2Skills we have recruited quite a few team members to our pubs. They have mostly been successful and stayed with us long term.

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In March we held a coffee morning for mentors and their clients to join us at our Head Office in Hertford for us to give a presentation about McMullens, what to expect from us as an employer and the benefits of working for us, including our great training opportunities open to everyone. We spent some time in our training kitchen observing a Kitchen Confidence course that was taking place for newly appointed kitchen staff. This was to demonstrate what we can offer on a practical training level away from the pub.

Following on from that we attended a Jobs Fair at North College which also gave us an opportunity to showcase ourselves as a great employer and give advice and information to prospective candidates. It was also a good networking event for us to meet up with other organisations that are supporting people to get into work.

The mentors we work with are attentive and understanding, they work with the GM’s in the pubs to facilitate and support interviews and trial sessions to ensure the candidate feels comfortable and knows the expectations of the role. The mentors have an insightful knowledge of our business and can talk to candidates about our culture, benefits, and training opportunities.

We are proud to support the work of Step2skills in the workplace.

Karen Davidson

Talent Acquisition Partner

McMullen & Sons Ltd, Hertford

McMullen & Sons Ltd. Hertford

Local Employer and Step2Skills partner