Kat’s employability journey

I am a single mum to 3 children. I have been unemployed for 4 years after the birth of my youngest child. This has been mainly due to lack of childcare.

However also due to not being able to find a job with suitable hours/shifts to fit around my children’s needs. My aim now my youngest has started school is to find a job within school hours in the hope I wouldn’t need to rely on childcare.

To say I was excited to start my role as a Parental Employability Support Worker would be an understatement. It was something completely different for me, as my previous employment roles were in retail and the care sector. I was looking forward to getting out of the house I’ve been stuck in for so long and start to make a life for myself again.

Although I was aware the vacancy was flexible to fit around the family’s needs, I was still a little anxious about how this would work.

The first few weeks were exciting but a little slow if I’m honest. It was nice to meet other parents who were in similar circumstances to myself, so understood the challenges we each faced. We are all from different backgrounds, but we get on well and it’s a great little team to work with. 
Regarding it being a little slow to start with, this was due to having to fill out contracts, get laptops, ID etc… I do feel this could have possibly been done in a shorter space of time, however I do appreciate there was teething problems with logins and laptops, and it was a learning curve for all involved.

One of the challenges I faced was getting to grips with using the programmes on the laptop i.e.: word, office, teams. I’m still learning new things about these now, every challenge regarding these though has been overcome with the help of my colleagues and boss.

The tasks set out for us at the beginning of our journey were mostly research related. I enjoyed that part of it and was definitely an eye opener to things in our area that I would never have heard of otherwise. I got a little confused at some of the tasks, however I think this was due to the blended working pattern. As we worked on some things as a team, some things in smaller groups and others on our own. It would at times getting a little confusing about who was doing what.

I have enjoyed getting out of the house and having our team meetings on location. I would have liked there to have been more meetings at the office. Whilst working from home is great and means I was there for the children if needed, I felt more professional and like I had a proper job when going to the office. This was due to several reasons, one being I was having to actually make an effort with myself and my appearance. A bit of self-care. I really enjoyed doing my hair and dressing in something other than jogging bottoms. It may not seem like much to many, but for me it definitely helped improve my mood and boost my confidence. It also helped me be more organised. I knew I had to leave the house at a certain time on the days I was travelling to Dumfries. I would sort things out the night before for the children and myself, which is something I don’t do often. I like being organised, and I am in certain aspects of my life but there isn’t much need for too much organising when after you drop the children at school you’re coming home to sit at the table in front of the laptop. Finally, getting to mix with other adults and have adult conversations. 

Overall, it has been a great experience. It’s made me realise that I can be more than just a mum. I can find a job that will suit me and my family’s needs. I’m a better person being at work, not only because I’m getting a little “of me” back but also having a stable wage coming in has helped massively.

My next step is to hopefully find permanent employment, ideally within the council but this programme has given me the confidence to apply for jobs I may not have applied for before. Even if I initially think the hours etc may not be suitable, it will give me more experience in filling out applications and hopefully interviews.

I will go back and look over my C.V, as now I have the knowledge and confidence to know there is more that can be added to it that I couldn’t see in myself before.

It has been life changing, and I’m more confident now than ever that I will get the right job for me.

Kat has since progressed into a 27 hour a week job as a classroom assistant within Dumfries and Galloway Council.