Fountain folk getting help to the workplace

The Kickstart outreach service was established in The Fountain between Nicky Forrest, Kickstart Mentoring, and Employment Officer and Graham Warke from the Cathedral Youth Club at the end of 2008.

The programme offers a range of positive and valued services to residents and organisations in the Derry City Council area.

Launched in 2008 the initiative is successfully helping people match their abilities and interests with jobs or training opportunities, ultimately assisting employers in finding the right staff.

Graham Warke, from the Cathedral Youth Club said: “It has changed a lot of lives in this area at a time when it is so hard to find employment.

“Nicky has been absolutely great - she does her best helping people with CVs and sending them job details. I cannot speak highly enough of the quality of the Kickstart service she provides. It is important to people of this area to be given access to the service locally.

“With Nicky’s help they have built up their confidence to move into employment outside the area and if it hadn’t been for her, there are some people in the area who would not be in employment now.

“A number of young boys have also gone onto ILM placements and this is a great stepping stone for them to move out into employment.

“What makes the service so good is how seriously Nicky takes her work and how reliable she is. She puts so much time into providing a quality one-to-one service and she does so much work behind the scenes looking for courses and jobs on behalf of local residents. “When people see how motivated she is and the belief she has in them, this rubs off.”

One of the people who avails of the Kickstart service in the Cathedral Youth Club is Joleen Jackson. Joleen found out about the service through Rutledge Joblink, where she had completed her NVQ Level 2 in Childcare.

She said: “I first started working with Nicky in the Cathedral Youth Club in December ‘09 and started my NVQ Level 3 the following January, which was funded through Kickstart.

“This was great because I couldn’t have afforded the course. I continued in my placement with the Fountain Primary which I had sourced myself. Nicky helped me to put together a CV which I am proud to give to employers.

“I also find the CV really helpful when filling out application forms. Nicky is helping me with my job searching and she sends me through details of jobs which I am confident to apply for because she knows that I meet the qualifications and experience criteria.

“I had thought that I had been OK with doing interviews but I now realise that I am getting the length of interviews but not getting the job. I am now more open to help from Nicky to prepare for interviews so that is what we are working on at the minute.

“It is just really supportive knowing that the help is there and somebody cares about how I am getting on. I like the flexible aspect of the service because the different services are there when I need them.

“It has helped a lot to build up my confidence and I am really looking forward to a career in childcare.”

Anyone from The Fountain who is interested can contact Graham Warke, Cathedral Youth Club (on 028 7126 0483 to arrange to meet with Nicky Forrest, Kickstart M&E Officer at the Youth Club.

The Kickstart to Work programme is partially financed by the European Social Fund and the Department for Employment and Learning under the Northern Ireland ESF Programme 2007 - 13, Priority 1: Helping People Into Employment, with match funding from the Department for Social Development through its Neighbourhood Renewal Programme.