Two women from Wolverhampton have overcome personal obstacles to gain confidence and have turned their lives around thanks to support and encouragement from local UK online centre, the Wolverhampton YMCA at Pendeford
Jayne Purchase and Dawn Haddock, both from Pendeford, were struggling to find a new direction after their family situations changed, and they were looking to move into a different phase of their lives when they visited the local YMCA.
Jayne,45 says, “I had recently lost my mother and aunt, my marriage had broken down and my children had both grown up so my life had come to a bit of a standstill and I really felt like I had nothing left. I wanted to find myself again and get back into the world but I knew that if I wanted to find work I needed to improve my literacy and maths skills and I knew absolutely nothing about computers.I didn’t even know how to switch one on!”
Dawn, 42, had similar reasons for visiting the centre. She says, “I spent many years as a carer for my parents and grandparents so I missed a lot of school and further education was never an option. After my father passed away I finally got to a point where I wanted to better myself and learn all the things that I’d missed out on because I honestly felt like I knew nothing.”
Although nervous, they both knew that getting online could change their lives - giving them new skills and the chance to get into work - so they took their first steps at the Wolverhampton YMCA
With Wolverhampton having one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, its an experience Maxine Grainger, the Wolverhampton YMCA’s Adult Learning and Skills Development
Manager sees more and more. She says, “We see so many people who don’t have the skills to even look for work now because the application process for almost all jobs is online now. And if people don’t have the skills, they don’t have the confidence to apply, our job is to both give them the training they need and encourage them to believe in their own abilities.”
With the confidence given to them at the centre, Jayne and Dawn are now using their new skills to move back into employment after years of looking after their families. Dawn is soon starting work as a carer at a local care home. “I applied for what felt like hundreds of jobs and got very frustrated before I got this one and I never would persevered and found the job without the help of Maxine and the centre staff. Obviously I’ll be working with people very closely in my new role and my time at the centre as a volunteer and a learner has given me the skills and the confidence for it.”
Jayne is also feeling positive, and looking to share her new-found skills with others. “I just want to continue and expand the volunteer work I’ve been doing so I can give people everything that the YMCA has given to me. Using the skills I’ve gained at the centre to look online for a role as a support worker makes me feel more prepared for work than ever before.”
She concludes: “The centre really did change my life and now I just want to find the right job so I can do that for someone else.”
Jayne Purchase and Dawn Haddock, both from Pendeford, were struggling to find a new direction after their family situations changed, and they were looking to move into a different phase of their lives when they visited the local YMCA.
Jayne,45 says, “I had recently lost my mother and aunt, my marriage had broken down and my children had both grown up so my life had come to a bit of a standstill and I really felt like I had nothing left. I wanted to find myself again and get back into the world but I knew that if I wanted to find work I needed to improve my literacy and maths skills and I knew absolutely nothing about computers.I didn’t even know how to switch one on!”
Dawn, 42, had similar reasons for visiting the centre. She says, “I spent many years as a carer for my parents and grandparents so I missed a lot of school and further education was never an option. After my father passed away I finally got to a point where I wanted to better myself and learn all the things that I’d missed out on because I honestly felt like I knew nothing.”
Although nervous, they both knew that getting online could change their lives - giving them new skills and the chance to get into work - so they took their first steps at the Wolverhampton YMCA
With Wolverhampton having one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, its an experience Maxine Grainger, the Wolverhampton YMCA’s Adult Learning and Skills Development
Manager sees more and more. She says, “We see so many people who don’t have the skills to even look for work now because the application process for almost all jobs is online now. And if people don’t have the skills, they don’t have the confidence to apply, our job is to both give them the training they need and encourage them to believe in their own abilities.”
With the confidence given to them at the centre, Jayne and Dawn are now using their new skills to move back into employment after years of looking after their families. Dawn is soon starting work as a carer at a local care home. “I applied for what felt like hundreds of jobs and got very frustrated before I got this one and I never would persevered and found the job without the help of Maxine and the centre staff. Obviously I’ll be working with people very closely in my new role and my time at the centre as a volunteer and a learner has given me the skills and the confidence for it.”
Jayne is also feeling positive, and looking to share her new-found skills with others. “I just want to continue and expand the volunteer work I’ve been doing so I can give people everything that the YMCA has given to me. Using the skills I’ve gained at the centre to look online for a role as a support worker makes me feel more prepared for work than ever before.”
She concludes: “The centre really did change my life and now I just want to find the right job so I can do that for someone else.”
