Helping people improve their prospects and find employment is a career in itself. Matt French speaks with a dedicated professional about his role.
QUALIFICATIONS: I'm currently completing a NVQ Level 3 in Advice and Guidance through City and Guilds. I have a decade of experience working in careers advice and community projects.
EARNING POTENTIAL: Can range from £15,500 to £24,000.
PLACE OF WORK: Resources Plus, Erith. I cover Bexley but will soon include Greenwich, Catford and Lewisham.
HOURS: I work 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm but sometimes have out of hours meetings.
WHAT IS YOUR TYPICAL DAY LIKE? I begin by checking emails from businesses and student clients, who can be anyone unemployed who is actively seeking work. I then meet with colleagues to discuss work placements.
At around 10am I attend client introductions and interviews with businesses and carry out safety inspections - this takes about two and a half hours and I do another visit in the afternoon.
Clients study vocational qualifications on-site one day a week. I spend time discussing where they'd like to be placed, give and receive feedback and teach interview techniques.
During the day I contact employers by cold-calling, sending emails and mailshots and going door-to-door trying to build new partnerships.
I conduct meetings and have about 30 phone conversations a day building relationships in order to understand my students' strengths and match appropriate people with their ideal career.
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME A WORK PLACEMENT OFFICER? I'd done lots of community-based work while working for BT for 35 years. After I retired I became a youth worker and then I started with the Matching People to Jobs initiative, which became Resources Plus. I enjoy working with people and like the fact that I improve their prospects. I have my perfect job.
WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO FROM HERE? I'll continue helping people find employment. I'm busy with the 2012 project getting 16 to 24-year-olds into the sport industry, working with a haulage company to get people LGV2 training and I've linked up with SureStart encouraging lone parents back into education and employment.
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