Employment Academies

Customer Services Academy - 'Emily'

What is your employment status?
I am unemployed

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and what motivated you to join this academy?
I graduated with a marketing degree and used to work in a business doing that during COVID, however, the business had to shut down and I was left without a job. With lockdown, I was very isolated, and being out of work made me lose by confidence, especially as my siblings were and are still doing really well in their careers. I done previous hotel work, but there was no work-life balance and then I struggled with anxiety as a result of these things. 

The Jobs and Benefits Office referred me to this Academy to help with structure and to build my skills, and hopefully find suitable work.

What skills do you hope to gain or improve through this academy?
I really wanted to get my First Aid training, so I was glad the Customer Services Academy offered this. It’s also helped to have the Food Hygiene training, COSHH, World Hosting Customer Service Training and Manual Handling training too.

What challenges have you faced in your job search or career path so far?
I had to come out of my previous hotel work job as I was too anxious and overwhelmed with a lack of work-life balance. When I returned to looking for jobs, I found it very hard to find employment, even with a degree. My anxiety and confidence had taken a dip, especially with lockdown and having to come out of work because of illness.

What do you like about the employment academy? Are you finding it useful/are there new things you are learning that you haven’t learned before?
It’s really good to have the structure of it, and all the staff and participants are really friendly. They have been able to help pinpointing where I could maybe work because of my personality. It takes a long time for me to get comfortable with people, and by the end of the first day, I felt really at ease sitting and learning with everyone.

Has it increased your confidence in building your skills/potentially finding employment?
Definitely – there’s a lot of emphasis on finding a job that suits you, not just to have a job, and the interaction with other participants makes you feel that you’re not the only one going through this search alone.

Customer Services Academy 'Participant'

What is your employment status?
I am currently unemployed.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and what motivated you to join this academy?
I joined this academy for help to get into employment. I have been speaking with employers and sending my CV to them for roles but haven’t had any luck with finding a job.    

I am still looking for jobs while on this academy. 

What skills do you hope to gain or improve through this academy?
I wanted to get a few extra qualifications to help with getting into employment, so the World Host Customer Service Training and Manual Handling are helpful to have.

I would like some more help with creating CVs and in interviewing, especially how to make one with AI being so common now.

I do a lot of self-learning with courses at home.

What challenges have you faced in your job search or career path so far?
While I have job experience, the most difficult part of the job search is trying to get through to companies and potential employers. I speak with recruitment specialists from these companies who ask to send a CV in, which I do, only to get an email back I was unsuccessful for the role – despite being told to throw in my generic CV and not replying for any role.

I also have gone through interviews, but either get rejected, or I have companies cancel interviews and ghost me.

Have you ever faced any obstacles in your job search, such as gaps in employment or lack of experience in certain areas?
It is mostly employers that have been an obstacle for me, but also AI. It can be confusing whether to use AI to help create a CV, as it’s been recommended, but there are a lot of mixed reviews on it.

What do you like about the employment academy? Are you finding it useful/are there new things you are learning that you haven’t learned before?
I am definitely learning new things – such as Manual Handling, COSHH, First Aid.

The interaction with the other participants is also really helpful – job searching can make you feel alone especially when you’re stuck in the house on your own. It’s helped my mental health being with others who are in the same position and having that structure of coming to training.

Has it increased your confidence in building your skills/potentially finding employment?
My confidence is still up and down, but I attribute this a lot to the job search.

Case Study - Dylan

Dylan was unemployed and unsure of what direction to take in his career. After the COVID-19 pandemic, he struggled to leave the house and suffered from social anxiety, which combined with being unemployed, affected his self-confidence.

He joined Antrim and Newtownabbey LMP’s Pathway Programme, tailored to 18-24 year olds to move them towards a pathway of support into training or employment, tailored to individual needs. Dylan has availed of support in employability skills, interview and CV support.

Through the Pathway Programme, Dylan enrolled on the LMP’s SIA Employment Academy to earn an SIA licence to work in the security sector.

Since taking part in these two programmes, Dylan’s confidence has boosted. He said:

the smaller classes in the SIA Academy helped and the staff and training providers at Workforce were very supportive of him in his journey.