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North East Connected

Hopping Across The North East From Hub To Hub

North Star Helps Young People into Employment

ByEmily

Jun 1, 2017

Local housing association, North Star Housing Group, is helping young people across the North East find jobs through their New Directions Youth Employment Initiative.

New Directions is a European funded project designed to support young people aged 15-29 years into employment, education and training, providing support with CV building, interview preparation and providing funding where necessary.

Kayleigh Savage, 20, from Darlington, had been looking for work ever since finishing her college course, but was finding it difficult to secure employment until she met North Star. Kayleigh received dedicated and personal support with job applications and interview techniques from the New Directions, youth employment team, at North Star.

This tailored support and guidance provided Kayleigh with the confidence and skills she needed to secure her ideal job as an SEO Specialist for Chetaru, a Web Design Agency. Kayleigh now works on the social media team to help companies maximise their online presence.

Kayleigh is delighted with her new job and the help she received to get there: “My experience at North Star was very positive; it was really helpful. I was given help to apply for jobs and went through lots of different interview techniques, which overall helped me a great deal, especially if I ever decide to go for different job further down the line. They’ve not just given me support to get this job, but given me skills to keep progressing further in my career.

“Before I came to North Star, I hadn’t been through interview techniques so I was always pretty unprepared. But now I have the skills to prepare thoroughly and anticipate the kinds of questions I’ll be asked. I’m proof that being prepared, and getting help from people like North Star, works because I managed to land a great job with a great company.”

Coral Smith, Youth Employment Initiative Caseworker at North Star, worked closely with Kayleigh and is thrilled with the progress she has made: “I supported Kayleigh to improve her CV, search for jobs, write applications and work on her interview techniques. We were also able to use our Flexible Funding to help with travel costs to work to get her started.

“It was fantastic to see Kayleigh’s progression, she really engaged with us and the results speak for themselves; she secured a fantastic job and feels confident that she has the skills to keep on progressing.”

By Emily