When Marvellous joined us, she was between two career possibility. She was deciding between studying music at college and pursuing a career in childcare, so one of our main focuses was helping her understand what a career in childcare could look like. Throughout programme we worked on building her employability skills, confidence level and knowledge of the childcare sector.
We also supported her to understand what a Modern Apprenticeships actually is and helped her understand that she could work, gain valuable experience and work towards her Level 7 SCQF qualification at the same time rather than going straight into college!
As part of Childcare Bootcamp Marvellous gained work experience in a local nursery, she put her all into it, took feedback on board and learnt lots along the way. It was amazing watching her confidence grow day by day!
She then had the opportunity to interview with a local Modern Apprenticeship provider, and after all her hard work she successful gained MA! Marvellous has now started her apprenticeship and has already started working on her first unit!
Marvellous- Young Person:
Erin- Project Worker:
Max was originally getting support from Invest in Renfrewshire. He wanted to join STEP2WORK to gain work experience and additional qualifications but was honest about being worried about his motivation while on the programme. Regardless Max wanted to give STEP2WORK a shot! His attendance throughout training weeks was great, he communicated very well, gained his First Aid at Work and Manual Handling qualifications and built a positive routine, all while engaging well and contributing to sessions! He quickly saw the benefits of the programme, always took time to think things through, gave everything his best effort and was always super keen to learn.
Max had an interest in admin, IT and finance, so he was given the opportunity to complete a three-week work placement with the Administration and Finance team at Ferguslie Housing Association. While there, he learned lots about the day-to-day running of an office, specialist software and the responsibilities of the finance team.
After this, Max applied for an internal Sales Administrator vacancy through Invest in Renfrewshire with Bray, a local engineering company. Thanks to the experience he gained at Ferguslie Housing Association, the qualifications and skills he developed through STEP2WORK, valuable interview preparation support provided by Invest in Renfrewshire and Barnardo’s and his positive, personable attitude, he was successful in securing the role!
We are so, so pleased for Max. He really saw the value of the programme and the work placement, and it was clear he gave it his absolute best every step of the way!
Max says: “While on STEP2WORK I learned how to make myself more employable and gained key skills that helped me with job seeking. The work placement opportunity through STEP2WORK was a big factor in helping me get my current job. I learned valuable skills and software that have continued to help me in my career.”
Sophie is a member of our Project Worker team.
Sophie provides one to one employability support for young people in North Ayrshire through Ambition Agreements.
She also helps out with Fit4Work and our Community Animation Team in the Ayrshire area delivering info on our programmes straight to young people in the community.
Sophie is a pro at hula hooping and can easily go for 20 minutes. When not hula hooping Sophie enjoys baking!
Lucas was working with Shannon at Invest, and referred to STEP2Work after he left college (doing Brick laying and not enjoying it). Lucas was lacking work experience and wanted to do Step2Work to get into construction in a different trade, however, he was unsure what one.
Lucas completed our STEP2Work programme and completed teamwork tasks, met employers, gained a first aid at work qualification, and completed a work placement on a local building site with the groundworks team. Lucas enjoyed his placement working with new people, however decided construction wasn’t for him and wanted to look at roles in hospitality.
He applied for hospitality services at college and was accepted for this. Towards the end of programme Lucas went on an employer visit to Nando’s which Lucas enjoyed and made think about in getting a job in Nando’s as it seemed a great place to work. Following the end of formal training Lucas was keen to get a hospitality job to go alongside college. He worked with a Project Worker weekly to apply for roles which he persevered alongside getting prepared for starting college.
An opportunity at Nandos came up and Lucas jumped at it, applying and securing an interview.
Lucas has started college and was successful at interview with Nando’s. He is now working part time alongside college. Lucas is really enjoying this so far!
‘The course helped me realise construction wasn’t what I wanted to do and look at different options, and I am happy to now be at college and working’- Lucas
Jonathan was referred to Barnardo’s Works by Alan Morris at SDS. Jonathan has spent some time with SDS trying to build his confidence and get used to meeting his advisor at the Russell Institute. Jonathan also lacked experience and qualifications. To continue building his confidence, Jonathan started working with Lynsay on our Head2work programme.
Jonathan completed Head2work, during this he took part in a variety of group sessions, completed a money management qualification, and attended multiple activities across Renfrewshire and Glasgow. His attendance was very strong (turning up for every session, always on time) and he applied himself well to this course. Because of this, Jonathan progressed onto our Step2Work programme.
On Step2Work Jonathan played a key part in group sessions, gained a first aid at work qualification and met employers. Jonathan continued to attend every session and always approached each day with an open mind and wanting to do his best.
In May 2025 we had an open day to show off our new premises and showcase our service to partner organisations. Jonathan played a key part on the day, telling partners (and even one of Barnardo’s directors!) all about our courses and his experience, this was great to see and really highlighted the progress Jonathan had made.
Following his training on Step2Work Jonathan then completed a 3 week work placement with WH Malcolm in Linwood where he helped out in the warehouse.
Following programme, Jonathan continued to engage with our service weekly, and since started a job in B&M.
Jonathan is enjoying this so far! 😊
‘Barnardo’s Works got me a job. Job done!’ – Jonathan
We met Isla after she contacted us about getting support to get into work. She had left school at 16 and struggled with self-confidence. This made looking for jobs and preparing for work an anxious experience which negatively affected her mental health. Isla had some idea what she wanted to do and a couple of ideas for employment but needed a bit of help realising her ambitions.
As Islas primary focus was on gaining employment we worked with her to create a CV in the first instance. We then set about finding out what Isla was interested in and asking her to consider the types of jobs she would do and then where to look for those types of jobs. Isla did great working on this in her own time and later we identified opportunities together she could apply for and would be happy pursuing. We worked on techniques with Isla to control her nerves and made sure she had appropriate attire to dress for upcoming interviews.
Isla had identified the nearby Riverside Lodge Hotel as a potential place to work as her cousin and friend both worked there already and had encouraged Isla to apply in the past. Barnardos visited the Riverside Lodge hotel and met with the General Manager and after a short meeting we established a potential opportunity for Isla to work in the restaurant. After a bit of interview prep beforehand, Isla overcame her anxiety and did very well at an interview where she was offered a permanent part time role in the restaurant. She’s now been working there for 4 weeks and has been gradually increasing her hours which shows great progression and underlines how well she has performed. She is now considering supplementing her waitress work with a Hub International training programme for Hospitality in order to expand her skillset and learn new job requirements in different parts of the industry
“Isla has really came a long way in such a short time and seems to be really enjoying it. Barnardos support has been invaluable for her progress and future job prospects. When she’s happy I’m happy and I couldn’t be prouder of her” Islas mum
“Its been great to see Isla come out of her shell and alongside support from Barnardos work hard towards her goals. She is more confident and despite the short timeframe is already more capable in applying for jobs or attending interviews, something she didn’t think she could do a few months ago. She’s done great and its been very rewarding for me helping Isla to achieve her goals” Barnardos Project Worker