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Another Proud Endorsement... from Craig Simeon...
Craig Simeon – Good News Story
Craig was referred to We Work for Families May 2019 and was registered on the project June 2019 and was eligible for the project because he lived with his partner and 8 children, and neither him or his partner were in employment.
During registration Craig identified his barriers as being lack of confidence, poor mental health and debt issues as well living in a jobless household with dependent children.
During registration an action plan was drawn up and was agreed to work on Craig’s confidence, support with debts and ensure family were maximising income as well as looking to progress his employability prospects through reviewing CV and working towards his goal of securing employment within Horse Racing Industry. We discussed his mental health and if he would like support for this however Craig had just started going to the gym and felt this would help his mental health.
“Patricia helped me with my confidence and helped me with my CV”
Referral was made to Better off North Ayrshire which he attended and was supported with financial issues. After reviewing his CV we worked with Craig in progressing towards employment through liaising and attending appointment with Craig at Business Gateway. We Work for Families also authorised funding to apply for Jockey’s Agent License as this was Craig’s ultimate goal to become a Jockey’s Agent; unfortunately, the British Racing Authority felt that Craig did not have enough experience in this field and declined his application. Craig felt really disheartened at this point so we had to rethink his plan.
Craig used contacts he had gained within Horse Racing Industry and identified a job as a Yardperson within a Highly Reputable Stables, he felt really nervous about applying for the job and through coaching from We Work for Families he took the step to lift the phone and call the employer and was given the opportunity of a month work trail at the stables in Shropshire England.
We Work for Families also liaised with the employer for Craig to check the that this was a genuine opportunity for Craig and to discuss things like his hours of work and earnings and if his “board” provided by employer would be covered; these were things that Craig hadn’t felt comfortable asking the employer. As the work trail was to commence within a couple of days of him applying it was important to get this information for him.
We Work for Families funded Craig’s travel to Shropshire and kept in contact with him as he successfully completed his work trial and moved into permanent employment.
Although working away from the home and family, Craig and his partner agreed that this was the right thing to do as it was a stepping stone to him moving into long term employment within the industry he has a passion for working in and he is hoping to move his family down to England with him in the future.
“I’d like to thank Patricia and the people from We Work for Families for all the support”
