Devon Youth Hub has celebrated supporting 100 young people, aged 16-24, into employment, training, or education.
Ezra Holman, from Exmouth, became the 100th young person to benefit after he went to the Youth Hub looking for some help with job applications.
Having graduated as an aviation engineer, Ezra struggled to get any entry level opportunities in the area. His CV was very strong, but he’d been struggling with his cover letter and initially he felt unable to recognise and talk about his skills and strengths.
The Youth Hub helped Ezra to improve his ability to complete application forms, by examining the job descriptions in more detail and exploring his skills and experience.
Ezra was invited to a Kickstart employer event by the Job Centre, where he was introduced to a range of prospective employers. Using the tools and experience that he’d gained from the Youth Hub sessions, Ezra was able to talk effectively about his skills and experience. This led to M Group Services offering him a role as a Health & Safety and Wellbeing Assistant within their HR team.
Ezra said: “I’m enjoying my role, the team at Milestone Infrastructure have been supportive and are pushing me. It’s really interesting!
“The Youth Hub gave me a focus and kept me on track. With Tom’s help and encouragement, I built my confidence in my existing skills. They helped me access information on avenues I wouldn’t have thought of, like possible funding.
“The team at the Youth Hub were really helpful and had time for me, which was time well spent. I’m really happy with my job and the help I received from the Youth Hub.”
Tom Moodey, Youth Hub Support Officer, said: “It was great working with Ezra. Building his confidence was the key to helping him get a job. He had all the right pieces, and we helped him put them together. We were delighted when he got a role that helps him move towards his career goals.”
Councillor Rufus Gilbert, Cabinet Member for Economic Recovery and Skills, said:
“Congratulations to the Youth Hub on reaching this impressive milestone in less than a year, and to Ezra for being the 100th young person to achieve a positive outcome by gaining his job. The Youth Hub team were delighted that Ezra visited them straight after being offered a job to tell them all about it – which speaks volumes for the support they’ve provided. His new job is a great opportunity for him to continue to build on his work experience and skills, in turn putting him in an even better place to pursue a career in aviation in the future.”
Lee Tozer, the Department of Work and Pensions Greater Devon Partnership Manager, said: “How great that Ezra is the 100th person that the Youth Hub has supported into work. The quality of the support given to the young people by our team at the Youth Hub is second to none. If you are 18-24 and are looking for work please talk to your Work Coach and take advantage of the support on offer.”
For information on how to contact Youth Hub Devon please visit the Skills Launchpad Devon website – follow Youth Hub Devon on Instagram, or Skills Launchpad Devon on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
