Case Study

iWorks clicks for Steven

20 Feb 2024

With a background in desktop publishing, technology is Steven’s thing. So after being unemployed for over a year, it was the Ingeus online platform iWorks that clicked for him during his job search. Subsequently finding work through the Restart Scheme in Central London, Steven is back in the Ingeus office in Hackney – on the other side of the desk. 

“There are lots of cliches attached to being unemployed and in my experience, they are all true. Your self-worth crashes and burns. You feel as though it will never end,” explains Steven, who undertook charity work at the Volunteer Centre Hackney when his freelance design work dried up. 

Referred by Jobcentre Plus to Ingeus and the Restart Scheme to help his job search, Steven regularly met with his advisor and attended group workshops, but it was the online package iWorks that really inspired him as he determinedly used it to improve his employability. iWorks is a free online platform giving Ingeus participants 24/7 access to help determine career paths, search and apply for vacancies, and research and prepare for interviews. 

“I used iWorks every day, there was lots of useful content on there,” continues Steven, who is 57 and from Tottenham. “I was able to research different industries and look for vacancies. I practised interview techniques, completed applications and learnt how to sell myself. What I noticed is that I became more fluent in my answers, I didn’t struggle to complete an application and one day, it just clicked.” 

Steven recalls the moment has was offered a role as an advisor for a carers’ charity: “I received a phone call offering me the job. I heard them but couldn’t believe they were talking to me!” 

Ironically, the charity – Carers First – has an outreach base in the Ingeus Hackney office, where Steven is now based one day a week. Six months into his role, he provides information and practical support to unpaid carers in the borough and says he can empathise with the isolation and financial difficulties many face after his own experiences. 

“I like meeting new people every day, knowing I’m helping them – just as I was. I’ve received lots of training, I’m still learning, and of course mastering the tech!  

Steven hopes to combine his caring new career with writing an online blog.  

“The Restart Scheme was different to the other training schemes I’d been on. It was more tailored. I could focus more on what I wanted to do.” 

Delivered by Ingeus in Central and West London, the Restart Scheme offers individual employability advice to people receiving universal credit. Partnering with numerous community and specialist partners, like Carers First, it provides holistic employability support to help overcome barriers to work.