2020 ESF case study: YouthActionNI - GET SET for Work 5

GET SET is part financed through the Northern Ireland European Social Fund 2014-2020 and the Department for the Economy.

Low confidence

When this participant started on GET SET his confidence was at an all-time low. He was struggling to get into work and the constant rejection was really getting him down.

One of the participant’s biggest barriers was his communication. As a shy and nervous young man he found it hard to communicate confidently with others. With the support of his GET SET youth worker, they worked together on building his communication skills and in building up his confidence. This included supporting him to gain qualifications and setting up and supporting him in a work placement to gain real work experience and work skills.

Work placement

His work placement in an administrative role in a busy office environment helped build his confidence and his communication skills. He even became really confident in answering the phone and taking calls, which was a huge achievement for him. He loved getting up in the morning and going into his placement. His work placement organisation was so impressed with him and the progress he had made that they offered him a part time paid job.

The participant’s story is a real success. From having no confidence and getting rejection after rejection, he now has a job he loves, the sense of purpose that he longed for and a reason to get up in the morning.

He says,

“I love my job! I now have a purpose to get up in the morning. I feel really happy! Thanks to YouthAction’s GET SET project!”