Daniel Patterson, 33, lost his leg to cancer at 21,
but has fought his way back into employment and won the prestigious
Job Centre plus new recruit of the year award for the South
West.
After 11 years of unemployment, and battling back from the loss of
his legs, Daniel – who now works at 'Britain's favourite
supermarket', Waitrose - was helped back into work by Working
Links, the local employment provider.
Daniel was eager to use his training from
college and get into the music business, but found that no-one was
ready to employ him. After working for several companies for free,
with no promise of a job, he turned to Working Links.
Daniel was then trained on the retail course,
where he was prepared specially for a job with Waitrose at its new
shop in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset.
Having completed the course, Daniel was given
an interview, which he successfully passed. He reflected on the
training he received and said: “The retail course was fantastic,
especially when it came to the interview techniques.
“It's thanks to the course I've got this job,
my first successful interview in 11 years. I always wanted a job
where I could interact with people; Working Links pointed out that
retail would allow me to use my creativity."
Pippin Sadler, a Working Links tutor described
how Working Links tailor training for employers, saying: "By
tailoring the course for Waitrose, not only do clients get vital
skills specific to Waitrose's stores but they also learn about the
company's ethos. For example, to demonstrate a passion for food we
asked our clients to bring in recipes for a cook book."
Waitrose is also sponsoring Daniel in his
quest to get into the 2012 British Paralympic team for
power-lifting, through its Partners in Sport scheme.
Daniel added: “Thanks to Working Links and
Waitrose I am now being sponsored to achieve my dream and hopefully
lift for Great Britain at the Paralympics.”
Working Links was founded in 2000, operates in 184 locations across
England and has helped over 150,000 people back into work.