Employability Day 2019

On Tuesday 25^th June, our Paisley office opened its doors to showcase the ways we support local jobseekers prepare for the workplace, as well as how we work with employers to fulfil their recruitment needs. 

Kicking the day off with a networking breakfast, we welcomed local employers and recruitment agencies, to grab a roll and a chat with our frontline staff, who know all too well the importance of ‘closing the gaps’ and supporting people with their dreams of moving into work.

We heard directly from people that the Wise Group have helped find jobs, and with continued in work support, stay in jobs.  Former Fair Start Scotland participant, Danny, shared his experience with the Wise Group;

“I had worked from the age of 17, and then overnight, I suddenly found myself out of a job.  If it wasn’t for the support of the Wise Group, I don’t think I would have been able to get this job.  [My coach] Richard talked to me about courses I could go on, to add new skills to my CV.  I did a customer service course and now I’m in a job that I enjoy every day.  It wasn’t just that though, he helped me get back on my feet after a bit of a rough time, and I’m so grateful to him for that.”

Then we moved on to the star of the show, the very enthusiastic and personable Thomas a.k.a ‘Tam’.  In his very short time on Fair Start Scotland, Tam only joined the service in April 2019, Tam has shown great commitment and has an infectious positive attitude towards searching for the right job for him.  Tam has a hearing impairment and sometimes suffers from mobility limitations which can sometimes be a barrier when applying for jobs, but as shown on the day, his personality and energy are his greatest assets, so he and his coach are now working on capturing that energy in his applications.  We hope to see him move into work very soon.

Next on the bill were Fair Start staff Fionna and Fraser who described the training opportunities available to our employment services customers, as well as our in work support model, all of which is undertaken with each customer in mind to not only support their transition into work, but also to keep them in work.

Finally, the Wise Group had invited a couple of employers with whom we have great working relationships with, and regularly recruit from our customer base.  Lynsey, from Betfred, and Joanne from local employer Alpha, were kind enough to detail their experiences with the Wise Group thus far.

Lynsey said; “The best thing about working with the Wise Group is that all of the person’s paperwork and role prep has been done for me.  When it comes to recruitment, it saves so much time knowing that the candidate has been vetted and is coming to me ready to go.”

Joanne shared; “For me, my eyes have been opened to a previously untapped workforce.  Mary-Ann (Wise Group Employer Services) called me and explained she had a customer who she felt would be a great fit, but would need some flexibility around the shift patterns, which we were open to exploring.  We did in fact take the particular person on, and they are still working with us.”

We are incredibly proud and humbled by our customers who were able to stand in front of a crowd and share their stories, expressing their gratitude to our frontline staff for their support.  We are also grateful to our existing employers who shared their Wise Group experience also in the hope of encouraging other local employers to seek our assistance in the future.

Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate #EmpDay19 (you can find more pictures of the day on our Facebook page) – we look forward to working together and supporting people get themselves into or back into work.

To find out more about our Employment Services, click here, or contact Gillian_taylor@thewisegroup.co.uk