'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

"The more diversity in our industry the better and more creative it will be."

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Thank you to Anne and the committed and hard working educationalists at Step2Skills who invited me along to their meeting last week to share my thoughts.

There's a lot of great work going on out there around skills, particularly in the creative industries, but it's often aimed at those starting out in their careers. My career has definitely been of the 'portfolio' variety (Zoology degree, lab work, journalist, internal comms, event manager, consultant, business owner) and I know a lot of others who have done the same. I was lucky to have had opportunities along the way to learn and improve - largely thanks to others and what they saw in me.

Supporting adults learners to upskill or change careers with transferable skills is a small way to pay some of that on.

Plus it's good for business - the more diversity in our industry the better and more creative it will be.

Abby

Director at Insight MCL