"They are so friendly, and I think I will get on well here."

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I first met John in August 2022. John has high-functioning Autism, so struggles to identify body language, will not look you in the face and fidgets a lot.

He loves being outside and has spent the last 10 years volunteering with his dad for Lee Valley Regional Park. John really enjoyed tasks such as cutting back plantations, cutting down trees, putting up fencing, and tool maintenance. John was nicknamed 'the Mountain Man' because of his strength.

John and I had some good conversations about different options such as working for the council or working for private gardeners. We updated his CV, so it was more suitable and focused, ready to use when applying for jobs.

I was told about an opportunity that could suit John as it was a gardening role. This was a 6-week work experience placement at the Birch Hotel in their market garden.

I took John to see the Birch and was greeted by some wonderful members of staff. They were very accommodating and really wanted to make sure John’s needs were met. John said “They are so friendly, and I think I will get on well here”.

I supported John in the first 3 days of his 6-week work experience and I went to work with him every day. John had not worked without his dad, so it was a big step for John to take. John has also never worked in a market garden.

I checked in on John on a weekly basis and John was always very happy and really enjoying working for the Birch team. The head gardener was always very pleased with John and wanted to investigate trying to offer John some paid working hours.

Unfortunately, this year the gardening budget had all been spent. So, there were no funds to employ another gardener. However, they were so impressed, they did not want to let John go without offering him some sort of work. So, they have offered him a seasonal contract. They would like John to work for them from March to October. This is Birch’s busiest harvesting and planting season. This would be on a full-time basis. John was over the moon with this offer as he has never been in paid employment. He signed the contract straight away.

Written by John's Employment Advisor at our Inclusive Employment partner, SPS Training

John

Inclusive Employment participant, 2022

Since we have been working with Step2Skills we have recruited quite a few team members to our pubs. They have mostly been successful and stayed with us long term.

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In March we held a coffee morning for mentors and their clients to join us at our Head Office in Hertford for us to give a presentation about McMullens, what to expect from us as an employer and the benefits of working for us, including our great training opportunities open to everyone. We spent some time in our training kitchen observing a Kitchen Confidence course that was taking place for newly appointed kitchen staff. This was to demonstrate what we can offer on a practical training level away from the pub.

Following on from that we attended a Jobs Fair at North College which also gave us an opportunity to showcase ourselves as a great employer and give advice and information to prospective candidates. It was also a good networking event for us to meet up with other organisations that are supporting people to get into work.

The mentors we work with are attentive and understanding, they work with the GM’s in the pubs to facilitate and support interviews and trial sessions to ensure the candidate feels comfortable and knows the expectations of the role. The mentors have an insightful knowledge of our business and can talk to candidates about our culture, benefits, and training opportunities.

We are proud to support the work of Step2skills in the workplace.

Karen Davidson

Talent Acquisition Partner

McMullen & Sons Ltd, Hertford

McMullen & Sons Ltd. Hertford

Local Employer and Step2Skills partner

Now in his "dream job"!

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Congratulations to Samuel who is now in his "dream job" thanks to both his hard work on a Vehicle Accident Repair Paint Principles Level 3 Diploma and his efforts on a work trial at a local accident repair centre.

The support and help of Samuel's Employment Advisor has helped Samuel secure paid work at an excellent employer, with a work pattern that works around his remaining time at college and his disability.

Samuel

Inclusive Employment participant, 2023