Restart Scheme
James joined Serco’s Restart Scheme in November 2021 with delivery partner Itec Skills. He had a dream of becoming an independent Painter and Decorator, however, he didn’t have much experience in this field having been a Chef for most of his working life.
James had a lot of barriers to employment including transportation, finances, and motivation – his car needed repairs and he didn’t have the money to get it fixed. He also had a new-born baby at the time who was taking priority in his life.
James was assigned to Itec Skills’ Job Coach, Alice Pettitt, and throughout his time on the Restart Scheme, accepted all the support offered to him. Through his commitment to turning his life around, he experienced a great deal of personal growth over 10 months. He dealt with issues in his personal life alongside his search for work and continuously persevered.
In order to get James’ business up and running, his Job Coach utilised Business Wales’s support and they worked together for a long period of time, communicating back and forth with Business Wales in order to get James a Start Up Grant which he needed to help start his own business.
James was successful in getting his grant and has started his own Painting and Decorating business and he is doing brilliantly. He purchased a van and he was able to have branding put on it in order to advertise the business which the Restart Scheme was able to support with.
James has successfully applied for his Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number for his business and is now officially self-employed and earning an income through his business.
James continues to engage with the Restart Scheme and is now looking to gain his Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS card) which is facilitated through the Restart Scheme in order to progress further with his business.
