Returneeship – “I’m lovin’ it!”

Nick went straight from school into the forces. Demobbed in 1999, he worked as a landscape gardener and in building maintenance before he lost his job. While Nick held IT qualifications, these had become outdated and he could not access funding to update them. Due to a mixture of factors, Nick became homeless and the only hostel place available was in Hexham. He applied for 10-15 jobs weekly but getting no response was disheartening.

At Hexham Jobcentre Plus in July 2018 the Returneeship was recommended. Nick had already attended four employability courses and admits he was cynical when another apparently similar course was suggested. As he had to stay out of the hostel between 9am until 4pm daily, Nick decided doing the course would give him somewhere to go and something to do for a couple of weeks.

On the first day, Release Potential gave everyone a ‘crew’ polo shirt which both the learners and staff wore. Nick valued that this made everyone equal and made it easier for people to work together. As part of the two-day project he volunteered to be a video editor, something he had never considered before and that he really enjoyed. Recognising that Nick was good with people, he was asked to be an interviewer at the Queen’s Hall Theatre and he relished the chance to push himself out of his comfort zone. In the classroom, Nick appreciated the creative elements in work relevant tasks such as coming up with a business idea and marketing design. This gave Nick a sense of ownership and additional skills to put on his CV.

Just before the course started, Nick had started talking again to his “First true love from 34 years ago.” She now lived in Peterborough and just before Christmas, Nick visited and never left. Applying for jobs, he got four interviews and then offered two positions! Although one of the roles was in ground maintenance which he had a background in, it was a seasonal contract. After being on the Returneeship course where he had tried new things, Nick now knew he could adapt to new situations and decided to accept a permanent role at McDonalds. Nick is ‘lovin’ it!’

So much has changed since the Returneeship course. Nick has moved towns; has a new job where he hopes to work his way up to management; is now engaged with plans to get married next year and has adopted a husky called Mishka.

Nick says of the Returneeship, “All the Release Potential staff were absolutely brilliant. When I was feeling down, they stopped that. They made me realise I was now on my way back up. Doing the Returneeship is worthwhile as it can give you new skills or brush up on forgotten skills. It gave me back my confidence.”