Harriet

Harriet joined GL11 after losing her job during the COVID 19 pandemic. She was assigned to Carole, her Navigator Developer who helped her with some of the challenges she faced, which included suffering with debilitating anxiety. She was really keen to find a job in childcare and Carole was able to help Harriet immediately, through the process of getting Universal Credit and together begin the process of searching for a job.

The first thing that was identified, was that for most of the roles Harriet was interested in, employers wanted some extra qualifications, so the next task, was to set about finding a suitable education provider for Harriet.  Success was achieved and Carole, was able to give Harriet the help she needed, in finding the right college and get the qualifications she needed.

The next area where Harriet needed help was in enrolling on the college course itself. Her Navigator Developer, Carole, continued to work with Harriet, providing her with interview practise, technique and with easing any worries or feelings of nervousness which she was experiencing; one of the things that Harriet saw as a big hurdle to attending her enrolment interview, was the journey by bus. Together, her and Carole were able to solve this by pre-planning the bus route and travelling the journey ahead of the interview. This was helpful to Harriet, as it eased her worries about the small details, such as where to get off and helped to be familiar with her surroundings, as well providing an opportunity to meet her tutor in advance of starting her studies.

Harriet has since gone on, to complete her studies, enjoying her time at college and feeling less anxious about meeting new people. Harriet’s studies have now finished and she was successful in getting all the qualifications she needed. Adding even more success to her story, is the news that Harriet was offered her dream job in a local childcare setting shortly after completing her studies and is working every day, doing what she loves!

“I definitely recommend GEM to other people because they have helped me so much to be able to do the course I needed to do, to get the job I wanted to do. I am so happy with GEM.” Harriet.