Twenty-six-year-old
Stacie Franklin battled redundancy and a tragic bereavement then
took on the challenging role of legal guardian to a teenager – but
now has the job of her dreams.
Stacie, who lives in Darlington, made an
immediate impression on her personal consultant and others at
employment specialists Working Links who were helping her back into
the job market. So much so that they encouraged her to apply for a
vacancy as Host with the organisation itself and she successfully
beat off all the competition.
Now, Stacie is the all-important first point
of contact in the Working Links office in Darlington, welcoming all
visitors, including those in need of help and support to find
work. In ten years, the national organisation has helped
150,000 people to change their lives.
Through a government programme, Working Links
helps disadvantaged people find work with support such as
mentoring, training, interview techniques and job search
activities.
Alongside practical support such as CV
building, customers are also helped with motivation and confidence
building, presentation and assertiveness training and numeracy and
literacy. The organisation has just celebrated helping 150,000
people into work.
Anna Ferguson, Working Links Performance
Manager, said: “As soon as Stacie arrived she impressed everyone,
including her personal consultant Andrew Pounder, with her attitude
and personality. She was so interested in the many ways we can help
people that we realised how keen she was to work in this
sector.
“All the feedback about her has been great and
we were delighted when she was offered the position of Host as she
is a fantastic addition to our team here. She has faced
such a lot recently but has stuck in through everything and
deserves every success in the future.”
Stacie had been working for a furniture
retailer for four years as a personal assistant and finance
administrator when she lost her job. She had also just become legal
guardian to a teenage girl who was a friend of her family and had
tragically lost her mother to meningitis.
“With the current economic climate it was
really worrying especially as I had just become a guardian so I
needed a new job quickly to keep a roof over both of our heads,”
said Stacie. “Jobcentre Plus referred me to Working Links and I
just haven’t looked back. The 12 week government programme
included time spent in the local office observing the different job
roles and I just knew that was where I wanted to be.
“When my best friend died at the age of 27
after battling a rare immune deficiency disorder for nearly ten
years just as the programme started I was devastated and
there is no way I could have continued without the fantastic
support from my consultant, tutor and all the other
learners. I am really proud to say that I work for
Working Links because they do a fantastic job. It is such rewarding
work and I want to progress my career so that I can work closely
with clients going through similar situations to mine.
“I was feeling blocked at every turn and
worried that I would never find work but everyone at Working Links
is so supportive and they were really positive about my
opportunities and future.”
Anyone interested in finding out how Working Links can help
them should contact freephone 0800 917 9262.