Karime Harris
A partnership project between Kensington and Chelsea College (KCC) and Jobcentre Plus has resulted in 30 full time jobs for people seeking employment.
The project enables anyone registered for Jobseekers or Employment Support Allowance to access free training for jobs in Carpentry, Health and Social Care, Business Administration, Customer Service, Graphic Design and Marketing, ESOL or Information Communication Technology (ICT).
Karime Harris was the project's latest success story having gained employment in the admin sector within a couple of weeks of completing her training in ICT.
As well as learning how to use databases, spreadsheets on the computer and other IT skills, Karime also benefitted from a weekly workshop offering support with job searches, applications and interview preparation.
The mum-of-one, who worked in the music industry before becoming unemployed, said:
'It was soul destroying sending off applications and attending job interviews that didn't result in anything. Much of that was down to my skills not being in line with the jobs I was going for. Attending the course at KCC really boosted my confidence.'
'The CV and Interview workshops were especially useful, although I doubted what I could learn from them at first. It's surprising what you don't know. Matt, my workshop tutor, showed me different ways to prepare for an interview and helped me write a great personal statement for my job application.'
'I gained so much from the training, and it kept me going whilst I was searching for a job. I felt like I had a purpose again. I also knew the value of the training having researched courses independently before I found out about the project at KCC. I couldn't believe how much institutions were charging. To have access to training like I had, and for free, is an amazing opportunity. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a job.'
KCC Enterprise Coach Matt Wojtyniak supported Karime through the workshops and helped her prepare for the job she later secured.
Speaking about the role of the workshop Matt said: 'Karime and I worked together to create an extensive supporting statement for her application form, which highlighted her strengths and relevant experience. Following her shortlisting we also completed a mock interview with constructive feedback about her performance. She attended the interview with a renewed confidence regarding her IT skills, which were assessed during the interview stage, and completed what she described to be
'my best interview ever'
. She was offered the position shortly after.'
