Richard had just finished college, when he came onto the HWC programme. He had been referred to the project from a colleague and was keen to find employment, having done various employability courses. He lives near Newquay and ideally wanted to find more permanent work, rather than the seasonal roles often on offer.  Richard is partially sighted and has mild learning needs. Understanding money, and multitasking is hard for Richard, but he loves to talk to people and has a beaming smile, making him very approachable.

Richard was interested in jobs within the NHS, however because of the pandemic and his vulnerable household, this was not ideal timing. It was hoped that we could support Richard with work experience in the NHS and also job searching opportunities. Richard was very quick to find seasonal work at the local pub collecting glasses which gave him some independence and income. Alongside his work, we were able to link him in with one of our partners Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to complete a 3-day online workshop on working for the NHS, and we then got him registered onto the NHS job site and a CV was also completed.

Over the winter Richard was also keen to continue improving his reading and writing for his own benefit, but also so he could read to his nieces. Courses at Adult Education were looked at with interview dates confirmed. The decision was made for him to instead look at completing his Functional Skills at the ‘Outdoor Place’ an educational provider who could offer a bespoke package for him.

During this summer as Covid-19 restrictions lifted, we were finally able to arrange some shadowing experience within the General Services Department for Richard with the support of our NHS partners at Newquay Hospital. He really enjoyed this, and it confirmed for him that he would be keen to find supervised work at the hospital. Richard’s time on the project has now finished but he is continuing with his job searching and getting support from the Job Centre.