Catherine, 52, connected with Skills Launchpad Plymouth through her employer. As part of a group of staff undertaking voluntary redundancy, Catherine took part in a group information session to discuss their next steps, what the current labour market looked like, and talk about the offer of further support. Following the session, she emailed Skills Launchpad Plymouth and connected with Community Lead Coordinator, James.
James and Catherine met up at Skills Launchpad Plymouth to discuss options and some of the roles that she had been considering applying for. High on the list was some admin work with the NHS, where she would be able to put her great transferable skills to good use in a rewarding setting. However, Catherine was unsure of how she could go about applying, having been in her existing role for 33 years.
Communicating via email several times, James was able to offer some support to develop Catherine’s CV. More emails followed, and along with it some interview tips around showcasing her skills to good effect. Success soon came Catherine’s way, “I have had an interview and was offered the job, my first interview since leaving my previous employer.”
When asked about how she felt about her next steps, Catherine said, “I am nervous, excited and apprehensive. Being with the bank for a considerable amount of time I feel almost institutionalised, but on the flip side, I am looking forward to meeting new people and making new friends.”
Here is what Catherine said about her experience with Skills Launchpad Plymouth;
“Approachable, knowledgeable and friendly.”
“Without the help from James I would not have felt confident to start applying.”
“James was extremely supportive, especially with tweaking my CV to make it more professional. I could email him whenever I felt I needed, and he would always reply promptly, even letting me know if he was out of office and would get back to me as soon as he could.”
