A mother of three, who moved to the Midlands and found a family home with community landlord Witton Lodge, is now pursuing career options after successfully passing an employment training course with the Perry Common based organisation.

Weeks after moving into her new three-bedroom semi-detached house, Alpha Pond, 42, from London, she re-approached Witton Lodge for help with her job search.

Following a discussion with Employment Tutor, Nargas, to establish her needs and aspirations Alpha was enrolled onto the three-week Customer Service Level 2 course.

“We decided it would be a good way of engaging her back into a programme of structured learning that would build up her confidence and move her towards her long-term work goals,” said Nargas.

Alpha, who suffers with anxiety, required flexible learning and additional time to complete the course, something she is very grateful to her tutor for.

“Nargas knew my situation and showed great patience and understanding, especially during our one-to-one support sessions where I needed to talk things through about my coursework.

“I was also able to contact her whenever I needed to on the telephone and via WhatsApp. She really went the extra mile for me had my best interests at heart.”

On completion of the course, Alpha says it has opened up a whole new world of opportunity for her and she is feeling positive and excited.

“The course has given me a lot of brand-new skills, particularly with my communication, basic literacy and my interview skills.

“It really helped to me to produce an individual learning plan which recognised my needs.  It helped me to structure my short-term goals so that I can work towards my Iong-term plan of getting back to work.”

Alpha says she is now considering volunteering as a way of gaining more experience to boost her chances of finding the right job.

“I’d like to volunteer for Witton Lodge and integrate myself more into the local community,” she added.

“I feel I now have the confidence to try something like this. It will help me in my search for work.”

Witton Lodge Community Association is currently delivering free training around digital skills and getting people ready for work. For more details please call the Employment Team on 0121 382 1930.