Don’t take NO for an answer
GMB member Gary Beck’s prospects did not look good when he was made redundant from his job as a UK Service Manager with JCB in February.
“This was due to the time, just after Christmas, the lack of jobs in the market place; and companies continuing to downsize,” says Gary. “There were very few opportunities in my field and, due to the amount of unemployed, people from much higher grades were taking a step down to fill empty positions.”
Gary decided he needed to review his skills and opted to add to them to make himself more attractive to employers.
Targeting the band of jobs in his skill set required extra training and funding to obtain the qualifications he needed, but through his union, Gary was put in touch with Jobcentre Plus and eventually found his way to Vicky Jeffers, Regional Employer Engagement Manager at the North West Office in Manchester.
With Vicky’s help, Gary was able to identify courses and build a business case to access funding to retrain in a range of courses to help boost his job chances.
These include Prince 2 project management (foundation and practitioner), an NVQ A1 assessor’s course and a re-test for the renewal of his CPCS industrial equipment licence.
As a result, Gary has won himself a new job as a technical engineer for a national hire company in the UK.
“One of the key things they remarked on in my interview was that I had shown a willingness to take on board new challenges and motivate myself: I had gone out and tried to better myself and improve my profile skills,” says Gary.
It was only through the support from my union and Vicky’s help, advice and guidance that I was able to access the correct procedures, processes and funding for my re-training. Vicky and her team were most helpful – if there were more like them, I’m sure the system would be much better and unemployment would be lower,” says Gary.
“Their efforts and my persistence have helped me get my like back on track and get back in the game. I love to be challenged and see things through to the end, doing the very best job I can.”
Gary’s advice to anyone who finds themselves in the same position? “just keep trying and don’t take no for an answer!”
The Skills: Recession & Recovery Project, helps match union members like Gary with existing relevant services. It aims to work with unions to identify areas and sectors under threat of redundancy or be in a better position to find new work when the economy recovers.
The project, which is funded by BIS through the ULF, works in partnership with unions, union ULF projects, the TUC and a whole host of external bodies and stakeholders to share best practice, practical advice and information. This includes producing resource materials, case studies and briefings that highlight well-working initiatives, funding opportunities or joint working.
