Meet Lee Wyer- Future Jobs Fund General Project Assistant

Lee Wyer was unemployed for 6 months before being introduced to the Future Jobs Fund Scheme and gaining the role of General Project Assistant. His new role started on 21st December 2009.

“The FJF role gives me the chance to gain the required work experience and knowledge to advance in my new career path, as well as giving me a chance to provide for my young family. I am excited to be given a chance to prove I can do something to help others get back into work. Being part of such a great project that is making a real difference to the young unemployed in Peterborough is something I am glad to be a part of.”

“My job role as a General Project Assistant is to support the project team of the FJF. I liaise with the host partners and employees and maintain the FJF Blog, Facebook and Twitter to promote the FJF Project.”

“In the first two weeks at work I was put straight into action and I found this slightly manic, however I found it helped me settle in much easier as I didn’t have time to feel nervous at all! I find my job role very interesting because I am able to meet the new FJF employees and write blogs on them. It has been very rewarding to see how happy the employees are to finally get a chance to get back into work.”

“Everyone in the FJF team has been great. The whole team is so enthusiastic and works to make a real difference to people. The team are always helpful and I have received help with all my needs, ranging from re-writing my CV to which benefits I am entitled to.”

THe Greater Peterborough Partnership asked Lee - If you had a chance to recommend this scheme to other unemployed people what would you say?

“If you are 18-24 and have been unemployed for 6 months, speak to your JobCentre Advisor now as you too could be a part of this great opportunity and experience.”

“At the end the 6 month contract I hope to gain enough experience and skills to progress further within an office based role and environment and know enough to gain further employment.”

Lee (pictured above) is shown taking part in Peterborough's BIG Tidy UP, a Keep Britain Tidy Initiative which saw many Future Jobs Fund employees volunteering to work together to collect litter in a Peterborough park.

Danielle Wagner- Administration Support Future Jobs Fund

Danielle Wagner was unemployed for just under a year before successfully gained the opportunity to work with the Future Jobs Fund team as Administration Support. She started on 22nd February 2010.

“After being out of work for almost a year the Future Jobs Fund scheme has given me a great opportunity in gaining the appropriate training and understanding about what is required for me to follow my career path into Administration. Before I started working with the Future Jobs Fund team I was struggling to find the right job for me and now I believe that Administration is the right way to go.”

“As Administration Support I have a variety of roles I am in charge of photocopying and scanning the new applications on arrival, updating the Future Jobs Fund and Equal Opportunities Databases, and filing the applications away. I also assist with other office based duties such as calling up for character references.”

“The first two weeks for me were interesting I learnt quite a lot about people’s roles and my knowledge of the Future Jobs Fund scheme was improved. I was in charge of filing for the first couple of weeks, ensuring the applications were saved on the computer and put onto the database. I found it easy to settle in as everybody was helpful and friendly and I was glad to be getting back into work.”

“The most interesting thing I have done so far would have to be updating the database, inputting information onto both the FJF and Equal Opportunities Databases. I found this very demanding as I had to ensure the correct information was entered on to the databases. I also enjoy calling up for references it has helped me gain more confidence when speaking on the phone in a work related manner.”

“Everybody on the Future Jobs Fund team is great. They have helped me settle in and have advised me in areas that I struggle in. They are a friendly bunch of people and I could not have asked for a better team to work alongside.”

If you could recommend this scheme to other unemployed people, what would you say to them?

“I would say that the Future Jobs Fund Scheme is the best way to get back into work and as long as you are eligible you should sign up now, the sooner the better! The scheme enables you to get the correct training and experience that would be asked of you with the career choice you have chosen.”
“At the end of my six month contract I wish to have gained enough experience to be able to continue along my career path which is within an office based environment.”

Meet Sian Lomax – Informatics Assistant at NHS Informatics

Sian Lomax was unemployed for 18 months before gaining the Informatics Assistant role at NHS Informatics. She started on 22nd February.

“Getting this opportunity was a great way for me to gain more work experience and learn another line of work. I was feeling very excited to be starting a new challenge and was very eager to get started as soon as I could.”

“My job role as an Informatics Assistant is to input data and log public comments on a database to analyse and create reports from. I am currently working with my line manager to create a scorecard for GP practices, this will involve a lot of work with Microsoft Excel which is a program I enjoy using.”

“Everyone I work with is fantastic; I‘ve had no problems talking to my line manager about anything. Everyone is still as friendly as when I first arrived, no day is ever dull! The employees here have been so helpful and given me so much advice which helped me settle in well.”

If you could recommend this scheme to other unemployed people, what would you say to them? “Definitely look into it if you've been unemployed for a while it helps you to get the experience and I found it makes you feel like you're doing something useful. Even once you have a placement the help doesn't stop and all the help provided is relevant to everyone.”

Peterborough Teen Fest 2010

Its gonna be a fun action packed weekend and we want all the great young people of Peterborough to be apart of this amazing weekend of entertainment.

To confirm your attendance please click the Facebook link below.

http://tinyurl.com/2459u8u.

Another 238 jobs for the Future Jobs Fund in Peterborough!!!

The government has announced a further £1.5 million investment in jobs for young people in Peterborough. This is Peterborough’s second successful bid to the Future Jobs and creates a further 238 jobs for unemployed young people in the city. The announcement comes after the first 167 jobs from the Future Jobs Fund Peterborough were successfully filled by April.

The first of the new jobs are being advertised from June with Job Centre Plus and in the Future Jobs Fund shop on Long Causeway in the City centre. The majority of the jobs are for young people aged 18-24 who have been unemployed for more than 26 weeks. In addition, 39 of the jobs are specifically for unemployed people aged 25 and over living in the 10 areas of Peterborough with the highest rates of unemployment. The 238 jobs are being provided by 35 partners, from across public, voluntary and private sector organisations in Peterborough.

Examples of these new jobs include:

· Events co-ordinator at NACRO

· Retail assistant at Compass StepOne
· Online Auction Fundraiser at Young Lives

· Caretaker’s Assistant at Discovery School

· Community Support Assistants at Cambridgeshire Constabulary

Lea Jordan – Painter and Decorators Assistant – YMCA

Lea Jordan was unemployed for just over 1 year before he successfully gained the opportunity to work at the YMCA as a Painter/Decorators Assistant. He started on 26th April.

“Getting this opportunity means so much to me as not only does it give me the chance to improve my work based skills and gain new experiences, it also gives me the chance to provide for my family which is a major factor in my life.”

“My first two weeks were brilliant. It was so exciting to be back at work. I was very surprised with how much work I was given, as I didn’t expect them to let me get stuck straight into sanding, painting etc, I think this helped me to settle in quickly.”

“The experiences I have gained have been great. It is hard to explain the personal joy you get from completely painting a room from scratch; it gives you such a great feeling knowing that it is your hard work that has made a difference to someone’s flat.”

“The people who I work with are great, they’ve all contributed lots of information and advice which has helped me progress further as a painter/decorator. I am so grateful for the help I have received as I believe this will help me gain further employment in the future.”

“The Future Jobs Fund scheme is a great way of backing young people, because without their help there would still be so many young people within Peterborough unemployed and struggling for work, for that reason I am so pleased to be one a the many to get this opportunity.”

Meet Sean Dunthorne – Heritage Assistant at Peterborough Museum

Sean Dunthorne was unemployed for just over 6 months before starting work on 25th February at Peterborough’s Museum as a Heritage Assistant.

Peterborough museum is a perfect example of the city’s heritage and was first opened as a museum in 1931. It was then updated in 1939 with the welcome addition of the art gallery. Over the years it has held many fun and enjoyable events for families such as the half term Dinosaur Week and Christmas events, which even included live reindeers last year! It is also said that the museum is the most haunted building in the city appearing on the popular TV show Most Haunted and hosting regular ghost walks.

“My role as a Heritage Assistant involves me as part of a team building and designing the exhibits. I also help with the maintenance of the exhibits.”

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here as I’ve been able to put my building and design skills to great use. I feel like the people here trust me enough to let me use my imagination and put my ideas forward.”

“The people I work with at the museum are great. They’re all simply amazing and have given me all the confidence to be myself and work in a way that best suits my personality.”
When we asked Sean about the Future Jobs fund, he had this to say: “The scheme is a great idea that helps people to gain the valuable work experience needed to progress further. If you are unemployed and eligible for the scheme then DO IT! Opportunities like this one don’t happen to often so be a part of it is amazing and I am so grateful to the Future Jobs Fund”