Steve And Kathy's Dream Jobs Will Find Work For Thousands

SHAW Trust champions Steve Watkins and Kathy Cowtan start their dream jobs on April 28, when the national charity and its partners launch a powerful benefits to work programme across Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

They will be in the front line in Shaw Trust's three year Pathways to Work campaign to help over 7,000 local people on Incapacity Benefit to achieve work and independence, and they know exactly how crucial that support is.

"I wish I'd had Shaw Trust's help when I was desperate to get back to work," said Steve, whose life was shattered when a motorbike accident left him paralysed at 18.

"Now we will be helping people thousands of people find employment and that's really very special."

"You could say I'm living proof that disability doesn't stop you doing a worthwhile job and, with the right support, there really is no limit to what you can achieve," added Kathy, who is visually impaired and has only a very small amount of useful vision.

"I know how it feels to be desperate to get out there and work, but to be constantly rejected."

They are working side by side in High Wycombe, where Kathy is an In Work Support Adviser and Steve heads up the Shaw Trust Support Centre, which will be the first point of contact for people accessing their delivery of the Jobcentre Plus managed programme that Shaw Trust is also providing across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire.

The charity, which provides employment services for people disadvantaged by disability, ill health or social circumstances, is already running Pathways in Norfolk and Greater Manchester, East and West.

Lynn Conolly, Jobcentre Plus District Manager for Berkshire , Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire said: "Jobcentre Plus is delighted to be working in partnership with Shaw Trust.'Pathways to Work' is helping some of our most vulnerable customers off benefits and into work."

The Berks, Bucks and Oxon April 28 launch is special too for Shaw Trust District Manager Sue Rozelaar , who has moved from her previous job as London and South East Regional Employment Manager to lead the campaign.

"I am really excited about Pathways, which is a fantastic opportunity for our clients, and I take particular pleasure in launching it in the area where I live," adds Sue, who lives in Hazelmere.

"Shaw Trust has already supported over 38,000 into jobs under the New Deal for Disabled People Job Broking programme and we will see over 21,000 get work over the next three years in these three new districts alone.

"We are pleased to be working with Condition Management Programme specialists Priory and in partnership with long-standing local providers Work in Progress. A wide range of expert organisations and employers are joining forces to provide the best possible service to our clients."

* Call the freephone Pathways hotline on 0808 180 2003.

KATHY'S STORY

WHEN tragedy struck and Kathy Cowtan's life fell apart, it was work that helped her pull it back together.The shock and stress caused by the death of her teenage son left her ill and desperate, feeling there was no meaning to her life, but brave Kathy started helping others and has never looked back.

"Work has been my saviour. It didn't take away the pain of losing my son but it did give me something else to focus on," said Kathy, who has joined Shaw Trust to deliver the new High Wycombe-based Pathways to Work programme.

She began her career by signing on as a volunteer with a training organisation, helping people find work, and ended up as a centre manager. During her 18 years in the job she has helped thousands into employment.

Kathy, from Chesham, has had to work harder than most to succeed in her career as she is visually impaired and only has a very small amount of useful vision.

"You could say I'm the living proof that disability doesn't stop you doing a worthwhile job and, with the right support, there really is no limit to what you can achieve," she said.

Despite all she has overcome, even Kathy was downhearted when her successful career was brought to a sudden halt two years ago after she suffered a fall and injured her back.

After 12 months of treatment she felt well enough to try to go back to work, but was depressed to find out how difficult that proved.

"It was a real blow not being able to work I went for loads of jobs and got interviews but got no offers. I am convinced employers were put off by my deteriorating eyesight," she said.

"Often I knew I was the right candidate for the job. I'd go home and cry with frustration, then feel incredibly down about it because I was desperate to get back to what I know I could do," said Kathy, who then found out about Shaw Trust's new Pathways to work launch in her area.

With the help of some special equipment, including software and magnifying cameras, and the support of her loyal support worker, Jean Pringle, to help with driving, Kathy is taking on the role of In Work Support Adviser.

"Shaw Trust have been wonderful, already giving me all the support I need. I'm so thrilled to be back at work and so looking forward to helping people achieve their goals," she said.

"I know the great majority of disabled people want to work and I have so much to offer because I've been on both sides of the fence.

"I know how it feels to be desperate to get out there and work but to be constantly rejected.

"There is a big challenge to help people in the High Wycombe area and I look forward to taking that challenge on."

STEVE'S STORY

STEVE Watkins had won the battle to get back to work after a motorbike accident left him paralysed, but he was aching for a new challenge when an astonishing twist of fate changed his life.

"I was tidying up the kitchen one evening, tossed a newspaper in the bin and - I know this sounds cheesy, but it's true - it landed upside down, and there was a Shaw Trust advert staring me in the face," explained the 33 year-old father of two, who working as a team leader in a bank call centre at the time.

"I could have written the job description myself. It was exactly what I wanted: to help people achieve their potential in every way possible.

"In six years with the national charity, Steve has shone in a number of roles, including Personal Advisor and Key Account Consultant, but now he has his ultimate dream job as Support Centre Manager in the Apollo Centre in Desborough Road.

His 17-person team will be the first point of contact for people accessing Shaw Trust services across all three districts. The team will include initial contact advisors, job match and in work support officers and back to work advisors, who will also provide benefit calculations.

"I wish I'd had Shaw Trust's help when I was desperate to get back to work," said the former motorbike shop manager who was on IB for nearly three years.

"I'd never written a CV or applied for a job in my life before. I wrote 50 letters and got one interview," recalled Steve, who got the job as an agent in a bank call centre, rising to team leader within a year.

At 18, Steve was living life to the full, working in the motorbike shop which had given him work experience when he was at school, and competing round the country when the accident happened during an off road competition.

"That landed me in a wheelchair, paralysed after breaking my back," said Steve.

"I actually managed to get back to work, in a different role with the same company, in six months, but my back wasn't strong enough. I had a number of operations over the next few years and got the go ahead to try working, by which time I was climbing the walls with boredom."

He started as an agent with the call centre, and rose quickly to become Team Leader, adding to his role by taking on the responsibility of encouraging recruitment of people with disabilities, but it wasn't enough.

"I needed a new challenge and Shaw Trust has provided that in spades. What's more, they lead by example. When constant use of my hands meant that I developed a form of arthritis, I had to have six months off work and at first I couldn't drive.

"Shaw Trust simply found me a new role until I was ready to move forward, just as they advise employers in their Staying in Work Service," said Steve.

"They help people to realise that anything is possible, with the right support and everyone is passionate about what they do."

Steve is making the move from Neath to a new home in High Wycombe for his Support Centre Manager job.

"My new role is a wonderful opportunity to help other to people transform their lives," he said.

"The Centre is in the front line. Our initial contact advisors know that when they pick up that phone, the caller may have started dialing five or six times before gathering the courage to make the call.

"The message is that, when they do, they will get the best support in the world. It's wonderful to be part of that."

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. In addition to delivery partners Work in Progress, Shaw Trust is also working with InBiz, Dering Employment Services and the RNIB.

2. Shaw Trust is also partnering with The Priory Group who will be offering a Condition Management Programme, which is focused on supporting those in Pathways on incapacity benefit with anxiety, stress and depression, along with physical pains such as back pain or heart problems. The programme equips people with knowledge, coping skills and peer support that will enable them to gain and sustain employment whilst living with their health condition.

3. Shaw Trust, which worked with over 60,000 people nationally last year, already has a strong presence in the area, where it has been operating since 1993. Projects include several programmes for people with mental ill health, Workstep, the Community Café at Leigh Park, Shaw Trust Horticulture Basingstoke and Portsmouth , which is a social enterprise business.

4. Managed by Jobcentre Plus, Pathways provides extra help for people on incapacity benefits to find work, using a holistic service that includes support from highly skilled personal advisers, groundbreaking NHS rehabilitation support, a Return to Work Credit of £40 a week, and in-work support.

5. For further details, please contact Sharne Halliday on 07967 661129 orPR Officer Becky Gammon on 07779 784901. Or you can email: crucialpr@shaw-trust.org.uk

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