With qualifications in art and a passion for anything creative she felt she may not be able to find part time work using her artistic skills and talents.
Emily said: “I spotted an ad for an online course called Find your North Star whilst scrolling through Facebook and was intrigued so sent an email, in no time at all a community training worker from LiveWest rang me to discuss the details and I was signed up. I had no idea at the time just how useful this course would be.”
“I have always had tonnes of ideas as to what my dream career would be but had no idea where to start.”
Find Your North Star is a virtual course offered by the south west’s largest housing association, LiveWest for people over 19 living in a PL postcode. It includes five modules of self-discovery and enables someone to realise their potential and identify a path into employment they may not have even thought about.
Emily is currently doing an online level two course in ‘Understanding Mental Health’ and is volunteering for homeless charities. She has signed up for PTLLS course to start in September, an education and teaching qualification for individuals who wish to teach in the further education and skills sector. Ideally Emily wants to use her creativity in art therapy sessions and feels that these courses together with experience she will gain from volunteering will help her to access posts in this field and build her confidence.
Emily added: “This course helped me explore my own skills and talents, build my self-esteem and explore the huge amount of options out there that I didn't know existed.’
“Find your North Star has done exactly that, with my trainer Yvonne's vast knowledge and personal tailored approach I have finally started to realise my own potential, I now have a clear path, the resources and confidence to begin the journey of making my dreams a reality.”
Yvonne Harding, Community Training and Employment Development Worker at LiveWest said: “Find Your North Star allows you to identify what makes you unique, what inspires you. To explore what skills and talents you already have and how they fit into the world of work.”
“The course is designed to help people realise who they really are, provide focus in challenging times and support to building your future. It will help you to understand what makes you unique, identify what motivates you and what you are passionate about, explore what type of work excites you and why, understand how your past has shaped you and to how to build your future and build your self-confidence.”
“This course helps people realise they are not starting at zero, everyone has natural skills and talents, many of which employers are crying out for.”
“All learners complete LiveWest’s COMPASS, a digital evidence-based tool for supporting an individual’s journey; measuring their progress over a period of time.”
“COMPASS assesses their strengths against the following areas; housing, health, social skills, personal development, finances, employability and learning. COMPASS can then be used by individuals to set key goals for themselves, which LiveWest can support them to achieve.”
To find out more about Find Your North Star or Navigate My Way please e-mail Yvonne.harding@livewest.co.uk or visit www.livewest.co.uk or ring and speak to Yvonne on 07870372189.