John came to Manchester Young Lives straight from Year 11 at a Pupil Referral Unit. His main area of needs was Social, Emotional, Mental Health and a physical difficulty from a ‘bruise’ on the brain at birth. John spent much of his secondary school experience in alternative education settings and struggled with being vulnerable within the community and being lead astray by negative peer groups and relocated areas due to this.
When John joined Manchester Young Lives, his goal was to gain his Functional Skills Maths and English so that he could then gain employment. Whilst with us, John worked hard within his sessions and was able to sit an examination for the first time and gained his Entry Level 3 Maths and English Functional Skills. Once he achieved these, he worked alongside our Basic Skills Tutor to gain an accreditation within Employability. John expressed a desire to find a part time job alongside his college days and worked alongside our Youth Engagement Worker to look for and apply for part time jobs. John was successful in gaining an interview at a popular retail store, he then was offered a part time position with them.
Once in this position, John was very happy with the work and attending college, but found getting to his workplace from home was difficult, as it mainly relied upon public transport which John struggles with due to his social anxiety. John thought he having a bike would be the best option for him, as he was able to cycle to work and did not need to rely upon public transportation, but he did not have any additional funds to buy himself a bike. Through the We Love Manchester fund, staff was able to fund buying a bike for John, this provided him with a practical, affordable, and sustainable means of commuting to his new work. This not only relieved the anxiety associated with public transport but also ensure that he could maintain consistent attendance and performance in his new job.
After several months of working part time, John was offered a full-time position which would mean he would not have available time to attend college and made the decision to withdraw from the college so that he could focus on his employment now that he had his functional skills and employability accreditation.