Carole gets back on the payroll ledger

Divorced mum, Carole Ledger, 58, from Newcastle had been out of work for a number of years. After many years in retail, she opted to stay at home to bring up her family. Now with just one teenage daughter living at home, Carole decided it was time to get back to work.

But even with her time in retail on her CV, Carole felt that her age, lack of IT skills and recent work experience were massive barriers to finding a job. Luckily, help was at hand from employment and skills specialists esg. (Employment and Skills Group).

Carole attended a one-day programme at esg. to see what it was like. Carole said: “On the first day I was really nervous and didn’t know what to expect. I thought people might not think it worth me looking for a job because of my age.”

Tutor, Peter Hindhaugh, at esg., spent time with Carole on her first day let us know: “Carole was quite nervous and lacked confidence, she thought no one would want to employ her. But I could see straightaway that she had potential, that her experience and great personality would make finding her a job easy.”

After that Carole enrolled on a six week job search support programme. Three times a week she met with Peter and within no time her confidence was booming.

“I received so much support and with the access to a computer, I got really motivated and started looking online for jobs. They even showed me how to set up an email account and how to upload my CV to job sites.”

By week four, Carole had applied for numerous vacancies and she was delighted when she was invited to three interviews. Very nervous and excited about her first interviews in years, Carole met with Peter again to brush up on her interview technique.

Carole says: “Out of the three interviews I have had I got the job I really wanted, thanks to esg’s interview skills training. I now work at Tight, Tights, Tights at Gateshead Metro Centre”. She went on to say: “I have already told my friends who are looking for work what a brilliant service esg. provides, all the staff from reception to the tutors are very friendly, helpful and approachable”.