James was referred to ANTA by the Job Centre having been out of work for two years. He suffers from severe dyslexia which had greatly impacted his confidence over the years.
As a Multiply Delivery Partner for Shrewsbury Colleges Group, we were able enrol James on to the programme and fund his training.
He had previously worked in construction however since his last CSCS card expired the criteria to obtain one had changed and required an additional exam to be completed.
Having disclosed his dyslexia at the enrolment stage, we offered him the support of a reader during his exam to help him overcome this barrier. Perhaps due to pride or embarrassment he declined the offer of a reader when the exam took place and halfway through he got up and walked out saying he wasn’t good enough and couldn’t do it. We reviewed his progress and could see he was in fact more than capable, he just couldn’t see it himself.
Over the coming weeks we stayed in touch with James and when he felt ready he came back into our centre and re-took the exam - this time with a reader and he passed, coming away with his Level 1 Health & Safety in Construction qualification!
We were able to help him overcome technical difficulties when booking his final exam which was causing him a lot of anxiety and stress. He went on to pass his final exam and his green card has now arrived.
We’re so pleased James didn’t give up and that we were able to support him in gaining his CSCS card. He was also able to expand on his maths skills as we embedded construction based numeracy content into the course. One of our other course participants who had worked with him in the past said “he’ll have no problem finding work once he’s got his CSCS card, he’s a real grafter.”
James himself said “If it wasn’t for ANTA I wouldn’t have been able to do it. I just wanted to walk out the door and keep on going but you didn’t give up on me.”
James is now open to employment opportunities in and around the #Telford area so get in touch if you can help find him a role!