I had been out of work for approximately 18 months when I was referred to the Kickstart scheme by my Work Coach at the Job Centre. I was a single parent at the time and had taken time out of work to look after my new born son. It was a stressful time and all consuming – I was living away from family as well, so had little or no support – and I was finding it difficult to get back into work.
I joined CXK as part of the Kickstart scheme in August 2021. I initially worked part-time in an admin role doing a few hours a day. I was also provided with a mentor, Vicki, who gave me additional support on a weekly basis.
The sessions I had with Vicki really helped a lot, it was good to speak to someone about problems and my feelings. We would work through ways to overcome challenges and how to apply these to my home life and work. When things were really stressful – for instance, there was a time when I had to attend court meetings with regards to my son’s shared custody arrangements – this really impacted on my emotional wellbeing and speaking to Vicki about how I was feeling at the time and how to get through this difficult time was really vital in keeping me on track.
I really looked forward to my sessions with Vicki each Tuesday as I knew that I could discuss problems and that I would feel better. What I learned from this process was to trust in myself and to have self-belief. Although I still get stressed, I now know to trust myself and to not let those feelings of doubt take over and continue to get on with trying to be the best I can be.
The Kickstart scheme gave me the opportunity to get valuable work experience, which has led to me securing a permanent job at CXK. This has boosted my confidence, my skills and my financial situation. As well as this, my emotional state is far more stable and positive. I am now able to look forward to the future. I feel more in control and have discovered being out of your comfort zone can actually be a good thing and not to avoid challenges and learn from mistakes and not see them as a failure.
My future plans are to continue working for CXK, to focus on increasing my skills and then think about the next steps for my career progression. I have just increased my hours to full time which is extremely positive and I am really enjoying what I am doing!
CXK has been a huge benefactor of where I currently am with my life – without the support they have provided I would not be remotely close to where I am now. I won’t forget any of the help and I can never thank them enough for it.
