This is from our one service users:
This is the first blog I have ever written but here goes...
I am a female plumber who has spent the last year trying to get funding for my NVQ in plumbing. sadly, I got nowhere. Nevertheless I plodded on carrying out plumbing jobs in the hope that one day all my hard work would pay off. Well today, it finally did!
Under the guidance of 'Coming Home Cardiff' a meeting is arranged for me to meet members of the MEARS group and discuss my future. Me, a scruffy plumber with no business mind at all, going to a business meeting. Can you imagine? Wondering how I will fit in and whether I will crumble I take my seat at the table.
From the outset, I am totally at ease. Made to feel very welcome and comfortable and not at all out of place in my silicone covered polo shirt, trousers and work boots! I even begin to enjoy it and although I don't understand everything that is said, I manage to grasp most of it. Here is a company that understands me and what I need. Not only that, but they are willing to offer me funding to do my NVQ, the opportunity to do my gas qualification and all the help I will need to start up. It's all I can do not to jump out of my seat and hug every person around the table! Not sure that would have gone down well.
I feel totally secure and like a child who was lost and has just been reunited with it's mother. Yes everything is going to be ok now. Everyone at Mears is behind me and understands what needs to be done and will get it done! As for 'Coming Home Cardiff', well this will be a new chapter in my life. What a team we can be.
Once I am qualified I will be able to work with the girls we support. It will be a new and enjoyable challenge for me and I'm so looking forward to being able to help others. I know how difficult it was for me to find a plumber willing to take me on. After phoning every local plumber I could find in the yellow pages and online I had almost given up. I decided to have one last attempt by contacting my local paper and asking them to run a story about the fact no man would take me seriously. Of course once I told the college of my intentions they pulled out all the stops and found me someone! I was very fortunate as I am the only one out of my class to actually finish the course and continue
plumbing. It is very difficult to find plumbers willing to take on apprentices for various reasons. Some simply don't want the competition.
I am so ready to help out women who have an interest in construction but for whatever reason, they have been unable to find the training. It's hard enough to enter this industry as a female so I have every respect for the women who have found themselves excluded from society, but willing to give construction a go. I feel honored to be a part of a scheme offering help and housing to women in need.
I have a new found confidence thanks to the whole team who has helped me get to where I am now. I am so excited about the future. I have the opportunity to work alongside plumbers and gain new
experiences. I have funding to complete my NVQ which will enable me to obtain insurance. I have been offered help and support in registering my business, something I never considered. And, I can
obtain my health and safety certificate which is something I hadn't even thought about.
Needless to say, I am eternally grateful to all involved and I am so looking forward to working alongside a great team.
This is the first blog I have ever written but here goes...
I am a female plumber who has spent the last year trying to get funding for my NVQ in plumbing. sadly, I got nowhere. Nevertheless I plodded on carrying out plumbing jobs in the hope that one day all my hard work would pay off. Well today, it finally did!
Under the guidance of 'Coming Home Cardiff' a meeting is arranged for me to meet members of the MEARS group and discuss my future. Me, a scruffy plumber with no business mind at all, going to a business meeting. Can you imagine? Wondering how I will fit in and whether I will crumble I take my seat at the table.
From the outset, I am totally at ease. Made to feel very welcome and comfortable and not at all out of place in my silicone covered polo shirt, trousers and work boots! I even begin to enjoy it and although I don't understand everything that is said, I manage to grasp most of it. Here is a company that understands me and what I need. Not only that, but they are willing to offer me funding to do my NVQ, the opportunity to do my gas qualification and all the help I will need to start up. It's all I can do not to jump out of my seat and hug every person around the table! Not sure that would have gone down well.
I feel totally secure and like a child who was lost and has just been reunited with it's mother. Yes everything is going to be ok now. Everyone at Mears is behind me and understands what needs to be done and will get it done! As for 'Coming Home Cardiff', well this will be a new chapter in my life. What a team we can be.
Once I am qualified I will be able to work with the girls we support. It will be a new and enjoyable challenge for me and I'm so looking forward to being able to help others. I know how difficult it was for me to find a plumber willing to take me on. After phoning every local plumber I could find in the yellow pages and online I had almost given up. I decided to have one last attempt by contacting my local paper and asking them to run a story about the fact no man would take me seriously. Of course once I told the college of my intentions they pulled out all the stops and found me someone! I was very fortunate as I am the only one out of my class to actually finish the course and continue
plumbing. It is very difficult to find plumbers willing to take on apprentices for various reasons. Some simply don't want the competition.
I am so ready to help out women who have an interest in construction but for whatever reason, they have been unable to find the training. It's hard enough to enter this industry as a female so I have every respect for the women who have found themselves excluded from society, but willing to give construction a go. I feel honored to be a part of a scheme offering help and housing to women in need.
I have a new found confidence thanks to the whole team who has helped me get to where I am now. I am so excited about the future. I have the opportunity to work alongside plumbers and gain new
experiences. I have funding to complete my NVQ which will enable me to obtain insurance. I have been offered help and support in registering my business, something I never considered. And, I can
obtain my health and safety certificate which is something I hadn't even thought about.
Needless to say, I am eternally grateful to all involved and I am so looking forward to working alongside a great team.
