Work pairings give young people taste of life on the job

Published by philmc7 for Knowsley Housing Trust in Housing

Young people were given the chance to get hands-on work experience with expert mentors at Knowsley Housing Trust.

A group of five young people took part in the Work Pairings scheme, which teamed them with a mentor for one-to-one support.

KHT staff Andy Coulson, Sharon Hughes, Julie Langton, Dawn Taylor and Ceri Hoppe all took part in the scheme, showing them the ropes and what daily life is like in their job.

The scheme was aimed at young people aged between 16 and 19 not in education, employment or training.

Over the seven-week programme they worked closely with tenants dealing with complaints and repairs, got to grips with marketing events and learnt about KHT’s services.

Rachel Parry, aged 19, was paired with Ceri Hoppe at KHT’s front counters

She said: “Before work pairing I had been unemployed for six months. While at KHT I was working on the front counters dealing with customers, booking in repairs for their properties and dealing with complaints.

“I think I have gained a lot more confidence throughout the work pairing.”

Of the five that took part, one has secured an apprenticeship with KHT, , another has gone on to start a college course, one has secured a permanent job and one has signed up for further employability training.

Mary Mangan was paired with Julie. She said: “I hadn’t had any luck with applying for vacancies because I did not have the right experience. I thought while on my placement I would watch what the mentors did but I didn’t expect I would get involved in the role and duties as much as I did. I immediately felt like one of the team.

“Not only does it help you but it’s fun, you actually want to get up in the morning and want to learn. It helped me a lot as a person and in gaining loads of skills for the future.”

KHT worked with Knowsley Community College and Knowsley Connexions service in the scheme.

It is part of KHT’s commitment to giving back to the communities it works in.

Mentor, Andrew Coulson said: “The young people all showed great enthusiasm and drive to learn. We were very impressed with how confidently they handled every situation that was thrown at them.

“We know that it is a very hard time for young people trying to find employment and it’s great to know you are helping people get their first steps on the career ladder.”