STORIES
Georgie’s Journey
Georgie joined CRCC’s Learn Your Way (LYW) programme at the Penzance provision at 16 after finishing secondary school. At the start of his journey with us he had very little confidence or independence but with support from CRCC’s education staff and his parents working together Georgie has developed countless skills and confidence, and is now in paid employment.
In Georgie’s first year at LYW he focused on having a say in his education and home life, building foundations for his adult life and future. As well as having a greater input in his life he was encouraged to have confidence in his work and anything he does.
‘The biggest achievement that Georgie had was he changed from ‘I can’t do this’ to ‘I can do it’, that confidence in himself to achieve things that he never thought he’d be able to achieve’ Penzance Tutor.
In his second year with the programme Georgie focused on engaging with the local community. He had varied opportunities; volunteering at a charity shop and volunteering at a railway station. Both volunteer roles gave Georgie new skills, from being able to work out gift aid for charity shop items and setting up displays to counting passengers on and off trains and answering travel enquiries confidently.
After his two years with LYW Georgie had learnt key life skills, such as shopping, cooking, budgeting, and how to swim. He also benefitted from opportunities to build connections with and contribute to his community. One of the most important outcomes was that he would now interact and communicate with others, trust his own abilities and engage with activities and tasks he hadn’t completed before, with increased self esteem.
Georgie then moved into the Work Your Way (WYW) programme on the work experience route. He continued his travel training which allowed him to increase his hours volunteering at the train station and travel on the train with a buddy; a skill that has been vital for his post course employment. He also gained more employability skills, such as how to write a CV and application letter, health and safety in the workplace, tool handling, communication and interview skills, time keeping and punctuality.
In year three he increased his working hours gradually and then increased his working days as his confidence grew. He also started socialising more with the other students on the supported internship programme and started to participate more in new experiences- such as group industry visits. From learning barrista skills to completing packing activities and visiting the National Trust, the interns learnt about many different industries. The programme integrates industry visits within learning to help students identify what jobs they may like to do and feel inspired by seeing different industries.
‘Seeing a student develop in self-belief and confidence, and then work towards independence is incredibly rewarding. WYW facilitated a range of experiences, offered supported challenges and provided strategies that Georgie could us to achieve his goal of paid employment. We have seen Georgie grow in to a polite, work-focused young adult, WYW are proud to be part of his journey.’ WYW Job Coach.
In year four he joined the supported internship programme, where he the chance to step outside his comfort zone with an internship in hospitality. As the year progressed and his confidence grew, he became more comfortable with looking for paid employment. Working with multiple agencies boosted his confidence and encouraged him to attend a recruitment day at a holiday resort. He was successful at interview and has joined the in-house cleaning team in a paid position from Summer 2024.
‘I never thought I was going to be working in a paid job … I feel like I have truly pushed myself the hardest I possibly can and getting paid work is probably the most challenging thing I have had to face so far. I will continue to make progress and keep pushing myself to get out of my comfort zone even more...’ Georgie.