Ben Carves Out a Career thanks to e2e

When 16-year-old Ben Waite left school in June 2006 he had no clear ideas about what career path he’d like to follow and struggled to find a job.  Determined to access the help he needed to get him onto the career ladder, however, he contacted his local Connexions office for advice and support. 

“It was clear that Ben needed some guidance to help him set some career goals and brush up on the basic skills he would need to achieve them,” explained Michelle Ramsey from Burnley College, Ben’s training provider.  “e2e provides the perfect way to help people in Ben’s situation and that’s why Connexions referred him to us for some practical support and training.”

e2e or ‘Entry to Employment’ is a training option designed specifically for 16-18 year-olds who haven’t yet made up their minds what they’d like to do and might lack the skills or confidence to set and achieve career goals.  Delivered by recognised training providers, the programme helps young people in this situation to identify jobs that they might be interested in and experience them through work placements.  The programme also helps them brush up on core skills like maths and English and helps them gain the confidence and motivation they’ll need to be successful in the workplace.

Ben began his e2e studies at Burnley College in December 2006, with the full support of his mum, Pamela. “Ben is bright but his GCSE results meant that he’d found it hard to find a job.  e2e not only gave him the opportunity to improve his numeracy skills, it also helped him focus on a job he’d like to do and work hard to achieve his goals.
“Ben was eligible for £30 per week ema (education maintenance allowance) payments while he was studying with e2e which really helped him feel that he was doing something valuable and worthwhile.  And because he was studying as part of a recognised programme, my child tax credits weren’t affected either.”

Ben’s first idea for a future career path was plumbing, but, following advice from the work-based training team at Burnley College, he set his sights on a joinery-related career instead.  The first step was to work on his skills and personal development and for the next three months he attended Burnley College full time, taking Level 1 health & safety and PMO NVQs and improving his literacy and numeracy skills.

He started attending his first work placement in March, followed by a second work placement with joinery firm, Lee Langley, beginning in July.  It was here that all his hard work at Burnley College began to pay off and he impressed his employer so much that they offered him a full time post as an apprentice.

Several months in to his apprenticeship, Ben is delighted with how things have turned out.  “When I started my e2e training I’d been losing hope of getting a job and didn’t really know how to make the changes I needed to improve my prospects.  Now, I’m doing a job I love, earning money while I train and I feel really confident about the future.”