A former fire-fighter
from South Wales has been helped out of long-term unemployment
and back in to work thanks to leading employment and
skills experts, Working Links.
Keith Williams, 45, from
Treharris, secured a job with Royal Mail working as a delivery
postman at the company’s Merthyr Delivery Office after being
made redundant and spending more than 18 months looking for
work.
Mr Williams said: “I have always
worked. Until five years ago I worked in transport and as a
retained fire fighter. Unfortunately I suffered a severe neck
injury which put me off work for a year and I was retired
by the fire service on medical grounds. I returned to
work once I recovered and I held my job as a transport manager
for more than four years until I was made redundant during
2008. I have found it very hard to find a new job since then
because of my previous injury and sickness record from nearly
six years ago. It has been incredibly frustrating.
“I am so grateful to Working Links
for helping me find a new job and to Royal Mail for having the
confidence to take me on.”
Working Links offers support for
people who have been unemployed for more than twelve
months, providing them with intensive one-to-one help to find
jobs through a personalised package of training, confidence
building, work placements and follow-up support in the
workplace.
Marcella Maxwell, Wales Director
for Working Links, said: “We recognise and promote the ethos
of work for all, maintaining our position that employment
offers the best route out of poverty and promotes social,
health and economic wellbeing. Our unique public, private and
third sector structure has enabled Working Links to
fully engage with the ongoing Welfare Reform agenda,
while at the same time delivering real improvements to the
lives of thousands of disadvantaged people and
communities.”
Working Links helps employers find
enthusiastic, experienced and skilled employees, often
providing specific training for job candidates even before
they are interviewed. This free service gives
employers the confidence that they are hiring staff who have
the skills and capability they need to do the job.
Mr Williams’ Working Links
consultant, Kelly Evans, said she was surprised he had found
it so hard to find work, commenting: “Keith is very focussed
and determined. His frustration at not being able to find work
was huge and his commitment made him a pleasure to work with.
We helped him with his CV and letter writing, something he had
not needed to do for more than a decade.
“We also put him through an
interview techniques course which proved invaluable because
the Royal Mail recruitment process for his particular role is
very demanding. Finally, we paid for him to have a thorough
medical and for a report to be written which shows that he is
completely well and fit to work as normal.”
Royal Mail regional operations
director, Tony Baxter, said: “We look to recruit high calibre
people to work at Royal Mail and I am delighted that Keith Williams
has joined our workforce in Merthyr. His example shows
that with help, commitment and determination, the barriers to
finding work can be overcome, particularly through programmes
like the Flexible New Deal.
“Keith is already proving an asset
to our organisation and we wish him well in his new role
with us.”
To find out more about working
with Working Links to offer work placements, training
or employment, contact 0800 917 9262.