Before the Kickstart programme I was working in my family’s café which was nice, but I wanted to be more than a waitress. The skills I picked up from there were helpful, such as customer service skills and being confident whilst serving a customer, but I wanted more than that.
When I left my job I wasn’t sure where to start and how to approach my next step in finding a better career for myself, so the first place I thought of was going to the job centre. That’s where Kickstart was introduced to me – a government scheme which provided funding to create new jobs for 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit.
I had three interviews for Kickstart work placements and the one I really wanted was the admin role at Lifeboat Lettings because I was always interested in learning about properties. I did end up getting the role that I wanted.
One of the things that I loved about the programme was that I was learning about how properties worked, how lettings worked and so much information about the real estate industry. I was being taught things that I had never had any experience with and the team that I work with are supportive and friendly, they never made me feel silly about asking a question. I have learned so much and I will take all the things I have learned and will keep learning into the future later in life.
CXK were a great help to me in providing wraparound support during my Kickstart placement, and they helped me get £500 worth of funding from the Colyer Fergusson Hardship Fund to help pay for my driving lessons which I am very grateful for.
The programme benefited me because it gave me a chance at doing something completely out of my comfort zone. Going from a waitress to an administrator for a lettings agency was a big change but I was lucky to have the support of CXK every step of the way.
I’m now working full time and have my driving test booked.
My plans for the future are to continue learning about properties and to have more opportunities within the lettings industry. Other than that, I am still young and I want to travel and have other experiences in life as well. So, I am just going to see what the future holds for me.
CXK provides a range of service to support young people, and adults, to take their next steps in education, employment and training. Find out more about our services here, or alternatively call 01233 224 244 or email info@cxk.org.