Restart Scheme
Michael*, a mature individual who had been a bus driver in Handsworth for 18 years, was made redundant during the pandemic. With a stable job unexpectedly lost later in life his confidence suffered; something that was compounded by uncertainty in how to find a job in today’s online world.
Morgan wasn’t expecting to be made redundant during the pandemic from her call centre role she’d held for three years, and her confidence took a knock. Initially, she’d tried a change in career direction back to childcare, her dream role which she held qualifications in. However, her mental health deteriorated each time she was rejected for a role due to lack of recent experience, and she no longer felt she could successfully apply for these vacancies.
With ambitious expansion plans, Birmingham’s popular tram network, West Midlands Metro has teamed up with Serco to recruit various roles within its Engineering, Customer Services and Maintenance teams. The joint approach allowed the company to access recruitment and post-employment support from Serco’s Restart Scheme (progression into work) and Skills Support for the Workforce (in work career progression) for no cost whilst tripling in size and doubling the tram fleet.
Talented baker, Sandra, has a dream to open a café in South Wales. But with no formal qualifications, and being unemployed with a family to support, she considered it to be nothing more than a pipedream. Sandra’s Job Coach is determined to help her achieve her dream and to do this, Sandra needs some formal qualifications to support her CV.
