Shelley’s Story - Groundwork

Shelley, 39, has been a stay at home mother for more than seven years before approaching the Groundwork Learning Centre to ask for employability support. Due to her lack of any recent work history it made it extremely difficult to create a strong CV which would grab a potential employer’s attention from a long list of applicants.

In order to overcome the employment gap our Learning Centre Manager Keith offered a voluntary position to Shelley as an office assistant so she could gain some much needed employability skills whilst taking part in the employability project. Shelley learnt to assess and develop her transferable skills which she gained from her time as a stay at home mother and previous work experience. A few of those skills were multitasking, being highly efficient and organised as well as coping well under pressure.

By working in the office Shelley slowly overcame her lack of professional confidence resulting in a higher sense of self worth and belief.

During this project, we worked closely with several outside agencies to help find a clearer career/academic path. In Shelley’s case, she was successful in securing a paid position, which is between normal school hours. The flexibility in hours has ensured that mothers of young children like Shelley can have a healthy work and family life balance.

“I really enjoyed my employability sessions with Riz as it helped to increase my confidence levels in terms of writing a good CV as well as answering interview questions effectively. Having volunteered at Groundwork alongside I am now in paid employment, working for an international medical supplies company.” – Shelley