After losing his job due to Covid, Ben was devastated to find himself unemployed for a year – losing all the money he had saved to buy a house. But after intervention from the JETS programme, Ben has now been employed for six months and has already managed to save more money than he had before the pandemic struck.
The 29-year-old from Knowsley, Merseyside was a domestic cleaner for the NHS when the Covid crisis began. He lives with his parents, and he left his role amid fears he could pass the virus on to them.
Ben remembered: “I was unemployed for a year, I felt useless and all the money I’d saved up was gone. Financially, I was back to the point I’d been at five years earlier when I’d left university. I had to sell my car too, I was devastated.”
Ben was referred to the JETS employability programme, delivered by Ingeus in the North West, by Paul Rodkin of Huyton Jobcentre Plus. He had weekly calls with his Ingeus employment coach Tiffany Bennett, who assisted with updating his CV and cover letter and helped him to search and apply for jobs.
She found him a job as a sterilization technician, thoroughly cleaning trays used in operations. It is a 20-minute walk, or a five-minute bike ride, from his house. JETS even paid for a bike for Ben to ride to work.
“It’s been great and is a big change financially,” said Ben. “Tiffany was incredibly helpful and patient and found me jobs I would not have otherwise found myself. They worked around me instead of rushing me, so I felt more confident and relaxed. I’ve never been this close to being able to buy a house before and I am so grateful to JETS.”
His dream job is in gaming design and he now has the confidence to explore possibilities in the future.
Ben was referred to Job Entry Targeted Support (JETS), a separate strand of the Work and Health Programme (WHP), delivered in Huyton by Ingeus. It is commissioned and financed by the Department for Work and Pensions and deemed to be a European Social Fund match funded programme. Ingeus supports the delivery of JETS in the North West, Greater London, Greater Manchester, the North East, and Central areas.
