Alex - Changing Futures
As part of Employability Day, we caught up with Alex, one of our Changing Futures participants to hear about how our Employment and Skills team have been able to support him.
So Alex, can you start by telling us a bit about yourself and why you wanted to join the project?
I wanted to join the project because I felt that I had quite severe anxiety within myself, socially and where I was within my career. I found Community Gateway through Universal Credit; they offered too help build my CV, build my confidence, direct me to places to learn more and develop myself and I was really interested in doing that. Community Gateway’s really helped me develop my confidence and signposted me to really useful resources and been a really helpful support in getting me to set up my own business!
That’s great! So what kind of progress have you made since you started on the project?
Ok, so I’ve gone from being unemployed and not sure which direction to take in my life to applying for a job at Community Gateway and gaining more confidence and understanding of my own skills and abilities to apply for a challenging role; especially to still feel confident after not being successful for the role and not seeing it as something that knocked me back. Instead, I used this confidence and opportunity to push myself to starting my own business.
How have you adapted during COVID 19 restrictions to still achieve your goals?
I’ve been able to take a step back and put into perspective where we are in the process of setting up our own business and where we fit in the current climate of marketing. I’ve been able to work on my own skills and learn in greater depth about different areas of creativity that will help in the business going forward but also as a hobby.
Lastly, what are your hopes for the future?
To continue to practice good wellbeing activities that I have learnt on the project, in order to keep my self confidence high even in difficult situations and to also assist others who have gone through unhealthy or unproductive thoughts and provide them with resources that I have found useful. I hope that my business will be successful through this challenging period of time and that I continue to develop skills that can help me grow, both as an entrepreneur and a person.
Find out more about our projects and our Gateway2Employment programme today!