VIVID has given a former pub landlady who had to stop work after developing back problems a helping hand on her journey back to employment.

VIVID's tenant, Jane from Portchester, hadn’t worked for 7 years and was unsure what work would suit her. Although she hadn’t worked in an office for more than 20 years, she felt it might be something she’d like to try.

Through the support of one of our Employment and Training Officer Jeannette Luczkowski , Jane was invited to be the first customer on a new Work Experience approach which supports VIVID customers looking to find work without putting benefits claims at risk.

Jane joined VIVID’s Tenancy Support team, supporting a range of admin duties. She’s now completed a 6-week placement working 2 days a week that has seen her experience a wide range of skills from report writing to engaging with VIVID partners.

Jeannette said: “Jane’s been a great pilot for the support approach we had in mind for some of our customers, completing a real range of tasks and she’s particularly developed and refreshed her IT skills. I’ve seen her confidence grow and her attitude, effort and reliability were unwavering.”

Employment and Training Team Leader Adam Tolmie said: “Our placement approach offers a great potential for discovering new work opportunities without impacting on benefits. There are work candidates out there for companies to engage with job centres at little cost to them.”

Jane scored her experience 5 out of 5 and added: “The experience has really helped boost my confidence in my ability to get back to a job I can do and enjoy, using abilities I wasn’t sure I still had. I’m so grateful for VIVID’s support for my wellbeing in this way.”