Sathasivan, 58, joined the ESF ESOL programme in April 2009 in order to improve his Basic Skills (ESOL and Numeracy) and find suitable employment.

When he started the course he lacked self-confidence and could only speak and understand very basic English. Sathasivan was computer illiterate and as a result he was unable to look for jobs online. Moreover, he had difficulty with low employability skills and needed individual support in order to enhance his job prospects.

Sathasivan completed an initial assessment in English and Numeracy and scored a low Entry level 1. He was then advised to complete a diagnostic test to identify his strengths and weaknesses in Basic Skills. The outcome of the diagnostic assessment demonstrated that he needed to improve reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Sathasivan wanted to gain a job in the retail industry and needed support to find a relevant work placement as well as access to Level 2 Health & Safety in the Workplace, Basic IT and ESOL Skills for Life training courses to achieve his main goal.  He did not have any formal qualifications from Sri Lanka. He attended an Individual Learning Plan session with the ESOL tutor to agree targets and set realistic timescales to achieve them. In accordance with his ILP he completed a Health & Safety training course and achieved a pass on the exam. He was thrilled to gain his first ever formal qualification which would make him more employable.

After four months of attendance of the ESOL class Sathasivan felt confident enough to take the City & Guilds Entry Level 1 Exams, successfully passed and obtained his English language qualification. As agreed in the ILP there was a need for a work placement so the ESOL tutor established contact with The Big Issue. The Big Issue is one of the UK’s leading social businesses, which seventeen years since its inception continues to offer homeless and vulnerably housed people the opportunity to earn a legitimate income. The organization is made up of two parts: a limited company which produces and distributes a magazine to a network of street vendors, and a registered charity which exists to help those vendors gain control of their lives by addressing the issues which have contributed to their homelessness. The Big Issue offered Sathasivan, living in temporary accommodation at the time, the opportunity to gain some retail work experience. He was allocated a pitch and issued with 5 free copies of the magazine. Once he had sold those magazines he could purchase some further copies. He had to learn how to manage his sales and finances carefully. Those skills, along with the confidence and self-esteem he built through selling the magazine, proved to be crucial in helping him reintegrate into mainstream society. Also, he was delighted he could improve his English and further develop his employability skills.

After completing the work placement with The Big Issue Sathasivan felt he had gained a lot of self-confidence. He decided to attend Basic IT training in order to learn basic computer skills. The course comprised the following units: how to type a simple application letter, set up an e-mail account, complete online applications etc. After a few weeks of attendance of the computer training Sathasivan successfully completed an online application for The Lite/ London Paper Distributor vacancy.  Unfortunately his application was not successful, but although he felt a little disappointed, he said he was still willing to apply for retail jobs online. "The Big Issue has made some positive changes in my life" -said Sathasivan before leaving the ESOL Programme.