In our role as prime contractor and alongside our DWP Restart Scheme partners in the West Midlandand Wales, we are invested in ensuring we give every Participant the best support and service in finding sustainable work. Recent research conducted by Experience Lab (Serco’s research company), has identified that 17% of those joining the programme have a Level 5+ qualification and may need more specialist support in finding roles that suit their academic achievement.

As a result of these findings, Serco have piloted a new initiative called Restart Scheme Blue, offering additional job search support by working with a team of Specialist Mentors on a 1:1 basis for up to 12 weeks. To date, the scheme has supported 190+ individuals.

Amy is one of the Participants being supported through the Restart Scheme Blue initiative. Amy previously had a great career in Project and Programme Management roles but had been out of work for the last 12 months due to caring for her mother and young children. As a result of not working for the past year, Amy had confidence and mindset issues.

Joining the Restart Scheme on the 18th of August, Amy was quickly identified as being perfect for the Restart Scheme Blue support and started working with her mentor, Deena Priest from PeoplePlus, on the 30th August.

Deena had weekly intensive meetings with Amy to update and improve her CV, cover letter and LinkedIn profile, and then focused on key industries and employers for whom she would like to work.. To help Amy build her confidence, Deena undertook a more practical approach, with mock interview preparation including helpful feedback to ensure Amy was ready for interviews.

Deena identified roles for Amy to apply for, and soon enough, Amy quickly started to get 1st and 2nd interviews. By late September, Amy had secured an IT Programme Managers Role with a business that mobilises volunteers throughout the country.

Amy said:

“I feel over the moon. Thank you for your help. You have been amazing and have made this happen for me.”

Deena said:

“Amy started off with low confidence. She had had a difficult past year out of work due to acting as a full-time carer for her ill mother and her two children. However, she was very committed to the programme and process - going above and beyond in carrying out agreed actions every week. Consequently, she managed to secure a role in 4 weeks – well done!”

PeoplePlus Job Coach, Louise Williams, said:

“Meeting Amy initially, I knew straight away that she just needed that little bit of guidance to achieve her job goals given all her previous experience working within project management throughout most of her career, I therefore suggested she joined the Restart Scheme Blue Programme. Deena did some brilliant work with her and continued the growth with her LinkedIn account, CV and covering letter. Deena was a huge help to Amy and as soon as the right types of employers in the right sectors had been identified, Amy was presented with the opportunity of 3 interviews in one week. I am delighted that she has secured such a great role”.