K in the A-Z of Inspiring Young Birmingham – Stacey’s Story
If you’ve been keeping an eye on our social media, you’ll have seen some fantastic contributions to the A-Z of Inspiring Young Birmingham. It’s a campaign leading up to the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, showcasing people, projects and inspirational events from around the country.
And if you haven’t been following along, make sure to follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn!
Today is a special entry in the A-Z, with K for Kickstart. This was a huge project for EmployablilityUK, leading to fabulous opportunities for young people across the country.
One of those young people is Stacey, who currently works as a fundraising assistant at Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice in London.
Today, she shares her story.
My name is Stacey, and I joined the Kickstart scheme after a long process of trying to find a job after being made redundant at the start of the first COVID lockdown, just like many others across the country.
Prior to my current position, I worked in retail and wanted to branch out and try something new. Being made redundant wasn’t great at the time but it has given me a chance to open my wings, start something new, challenge myself, and learn new skills every day that will look good on my CV, as well as help me in finding a job in the future.
My current position is working as a fundraising assistant at Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice.
I started this position on 21st March and it has been such a good experience so far. I have been able to learn the skills I wanted to but never had the chance to.
My anxiety played a big part in why I hadn’t jumped to start something new, but you have to push yourself in order to get what you want and to try to succeed in something new.
I am so glad I did make that jump because not only has it helped me gain my confidence back, but I am pushing myself to do more things that will help me grow as an individual. The Kickstart scheme again has helped me with this massively.
My role involves helping out other colleagues in the office with their daily tasks, while also helping prepare for upcoming events.
The role also includes making up event packs to go out to the community and local schools, and pushing myself to call up the schools, which was a big fear of mine. I have always struggled to talk on the phone to literally anyone but I have pushed myself to try this.
I have also learned how to do a bit of database work in Excel. 3 months ago I had no idea how to even put in any information but now I am able to do this on my own and make my own spreadsheets and am able to export and input confidential information into a spreadsheet. Prior to this, I had help from my other colleagues and also had online resources and videos from YouTube to help me get started.
I am now able to work through most of the tasks given daily on my own and with little help.
The workshops have helped me too, as I am able to take a step back and reflect on myself and get that little bit of extra help with my CV writing skills, along with interview tips and skills, my mental health and wellbeing, and how to create a LinkedIn profile.
I already had a profile but needed to update it and am still in the process of doing that today.
Generally, the scheme helps you have an idea of what you want out of what you are doing and tries to help you have a goal and an idea of where you would like to see yourself after your placement. These workshops only take about 30 minutes out of your day and I have managed to fit them in during my busy schedule. So if I can, you can too!
If you have no idea where you would like to be after your placement that is fine!
I am so grateful and thankful for all the help from the team at EmployabilityUK, my mentor Krys and the Kickstart scheme in general as it has helped me gain the skills I needed and helped better myself as an individual.
If I decided back in March that I wasn’t going to take this position, I don’t know where I would be now or if I would even have a job. So I am glad I have pushed myself to try something new and it has helped me meet some lovely new people.
The Kickstart Scheme may have drawn to a close, but EmployabilityUK continues to raise the aspirations of young people and to work with businesses and brands to help shape the future of the workforce.
To find out more about what we do, call 0345 601 5551 or reach out through our contact form.
