Karen Garton’s life was turned upside down when she lost both her husband and son within the space of two years. After 32 years as a self-employed taxi and mini-bus driver, she also found herself out of work and missing a sense of purpose.
“I needed to get my mind into something,” explains 57-year-old Karen. “It’s been a hectic couple of years, and I felt it was the right time to get back into work. I didn’t know where to start and JETS really helped me to realise what I could do.”
Signing up at her local Jobcentre Plus in St Helens, Karen was soon referred by her work coach Ian Harrison to
Job Entry Targeted Support (JETS), a separate strand of the
Work and Health Programme (WHP), delivered in North West England by Ingeus. It is commissioned and financed by the Department for Work and Pensions and deemed to be a European Social Fund match funded programme.
With help from her WHP JETS employment coach Natalia Davies, Karen was soon back into work. Just one application and one interview later and Karen is now four weeks into her new job as a care assistant.
She says, “I got the job very quickly! Natalia was amazing, she was very considerate of my circumstances and would always ask how I was before talking about jobs. We really bonded over the phone.”
Through their conversations, Natalia identified Karen’s caring nature and qualities and encouraged her to consider a career in care work. Now, Karen visits local residents helping to ensure they are looked after well in their own homes. It seems a far cry from her previous 24-hour taxi business, which she ran with her husband, but Karen says its experience is beneficial.
She says, “It seems different to what I did before, but I can draw similarities. Because I was the only female driver in the company, I was always given the jobs with elderly customers and they would often need a lot of physical support.”
Karen has received online training with her employer and, although it was put forward, she turned down Natalia’s offer of help with her CV and interview technique.
“After driving a taxi for so long I think I’m well qualified in talking! I didn’t think I needed any help,” explains Karen. “Natalia deserves a huge amount of praise for helping me to find this job.”
https://ingeus.com/jetsnw