Jack - Learning new skills in the retail trade
A man with additional needs has grown in confidence after getting retail experience, established through Dorset Council's Supported Employment Service, Pluss.
Tracey Spriggs, Pluss employment coach, said Jack had come on to the programme after leaving Weymouth College in the summer, and has been working at the Margaret Green Animal Rescue charity shop in the town.
Jack was keen to learn new skills in retail, customer services and working as part of a team. To be more independent, he travelled to and from his assisted living house to work.
Having completed the required health and safety in the workplace training, to help him stay safe on the job, charity shop manager Sarah started Jack's retail training.
Tracy said Jack had learnt a huge amount over the past few months, including welcoming customers and giving advice, sorting and tagging donations, receiving donations and gift labelling, teamwork, steaming clothes, sorting sizes and prices, using the till and handling money.
Jack took a particular interest in the designer clothes, labelling them correctly and looking them up on the shop charts.
Tracey said: "Wow, what an achievement this young man has done in such a short period of time while working with our service, developing new skills learnt in the charity shop. I have to say the amazing support I have had from Sarah and her team at Margaret Green and Harriet and her team at Accomplish, who support Jack in assisted living, has made this journey so perfect and has shown how working together can give every young person a great start to independence, especially when they are so driven and ambitious as Jack."
Margaret Green Animal Rescue charity shop manager Sarah said: "Jack is inquisitive and dedicated and hard-working. He is chatty and conscientious. In the few months that Jack has been here with us, we have seen his confidence grow.
"He relishes taking on new tasks with the utmost enthusiasm and we now consider him an invaluable member of the shop."
Harriet Jones, care team leader at specialist provider Accomplish Group, said Jack had always wanted to be part of a team: "Since joining Margaret Green Animal Rescue charity shop in Weymouth, he has taken pride in his work, appearance and dedicated time outside of the charity shop to work on the skills needed.
"Jack has also spent time working towards his independence further to help with his work, taking time with the staff to learn and develop the skills for his independent travel. Within the space of a few weeks, Jack has managed to go from being supported to go on the bus to getting on the bus independently and walking to his work experience at the charity shop. We are all so proud of Jack's growth over the last few months and thank Tracey and the team at Margaret Green in helping Jack to thrive in his next steps after college," she added.
Councillor Steve Robinson, Portfolio lead for Adult Social Care at Dorset Council, said: "It is great to see how Jack's independence and confidence has grown, and it's really encouraging to learn about his progress and see how much he is enjoying retail life."
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Categories: Adult's Services
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