Laura from Ashington was considering returning to employment after a few years of being a carer for a family member. But she lacked confidence and felt her skills were not up to date enough to be able consider returning to an administrative role.

She joined the Bridge programme wanting to build her confidence and self-esteem, and get support to help move on with her life and get closer to employment.

Laura started off with counselling sessions from Cygnus Support, our mental health partner, to help build up her confidence and self-esteem. She then moved onto their coaching sessions to start working towards her goals. Skills were her next target, attending IT sessions with BRIC, our digital partner, and learnt how to use a tablet and laptop.

She took part in an Employability course which helped her reduce the isolation she was feeling as they were small classroom-based sessions, she learnt how to develop her own CV further, recognising she had a good work history and had done a lot more than she thought. She also build a good working relationship with a volunteer connector whom she spoke to on a weekly basis via Zoom, this again helped to reduce the feeling of isolation but also helped her to increase her confidence to speak to others and build positive friendships.

Laura said of her time on Bridge:

“The Bridge Project has helped me so much, in learning new skills and updating skills I hadn’t used for some time. It gave me the encouragement I badly needed to push myself to go and do a course. Throughout the whole lockdown time I’ve done courses at home having constant contact with tutors, always being there for phone calls or text messages. They can’t do enough for their students.”

Angela her Bridge Worker said of Laura:

“Laura was a pleasure to work with, she required support to point her in the right direction as she felt she did not have the confidence or relevant skills to progress. She is very motivated to make changes and always had a positive attitude to give it a go. She was always keen to try new ways of learning and she achieved this by attending regular zoom meetings with me her Bridge Worker, BRIC and NCVA.

“She will do well in an administrative role as her confidence has grown and she is working hard to get her skills and knowledge up to date. She is moving onto a Customer Service course with Northern Learning Trust – Working Homes and is now actively looking for work.”

Well done Laura, you have a bright future ahead of you!