A hub of activity

Katie Hunter is a skills coach for Bromford – helping people to build their confidence, learn new skills and get into paid work.

In this post she explains that the Lichfield hub is more than just a place to go for a bit of advice and a coffee.

Skills studio

The Lichfield hub has some amazing resources that you can use to help you reach whatever your goals are. Our skills studio is perfect if you’re looking for a job or a new career but don’t have the right training or qualifications. There are always plenty of courses available that could help you with developing new or existing skills.

We recently worked with a customer who felt uncomfortable because he didn’t know how to use a computer and felt that it was holding him back from meeting new people. I showed him ‘Learn My Way’ an online resource to help people get to grips with using computers.

During the conversation about the most suitable computer course to take he told me that he had liver disease so we decided that it would be a good idea if he chose ‘Being Healthy’ as one of his modules to work through.

The customer found this a really great way to learn how to use a computer whilst educating himself on the benefits of living a healthier lifestyle. He enjoyed the course so much he’s now registered onto an introduction to computers course run by South Staffs College – along with some of the friends he’s made at the hub.

The piggy bank

Most of us need a little help managing our money from time to time and the piggy bank is brill if you’re looking for some advice. If you’re in debt and are struggling to know where to start our money advisors can help you by giving practical guidance to help you to become debt-free.

The work club

If you’re looking for work, why not pop along to our work club where we can help you write your CV, give you interview tips, and help you look for your perfect job.

A good example of someone who’s benefitted from this service is John* who received computer support at the work club to set up an e-mail address and to put together his CV.

The more he came to the work club, the more his confidence grew. He learnt to use Universal Jobs Match without any help and started to apply for warehouse work. Despite some ‘professionals’ thinking that he wasn’t ‘job ready’, John continued to work with me applying for jobs and is now working as a warehouse operative for Amazon.

The coffee club

If you’re looking to meet new people why not come along for a chat and a coffee. The coffee club is really relaxed and we often have special events to help you learn new skills. We recently ran a getting online with Facebook session during Get Online week which proved to be great success with all the customers who came along.

I use Facebook a lot to look for potential jobs for our customers so now they’re set up on Facebook I’ll be able to let them know about jobs that may be of interest by sending posts directly to our customers no matter what time of day I find them.

The library

Well, it is what it says – our library has loads of great books on things like getting into work, interview techniques, building confidence and self-esteem, managing your money and lots more. If you like to read and learn in your own time you can take advantage of our lending library system where you can take your chosen books home with you.

The wardrobe

I love all of the hub, but the wardrobe is possibly my favourite area. Wondering what to wear is tricky at the best of times – personally I always struggle to decide what shade of pink to choose! Seriously though, not having a suitable outfit for a job interview can be really stressful when you need to look your best.

The wardrobe solves this problem. The idea is that if you have a job interview but have nothing suitable to wear you can come along to the wardrobe and choose an outfit. We have loads of clothes for both men and women including shoes, jewellery, and accessories that will give you that extra bit of confidence during your interview. Best of all, everything is free and you even get to keep your outfit.

This is just a little taste of what’s going on at the hub and you can find out more by emailing me Katie.hunter@bromford.co.uk or Kayleigh Young at Kayleigh.young@bromford.co.uk or by calling 0330 1234 034.

Thanks

Katie

*Name changed

To read more from Katie, take a look at her last blog here.