Gill Smith, 31, was out of work for many years due to health problems and joined the Pathways programme at TNG to help improve her confidence.

During the course Gill found the training and mock interview very helpful, giving her additional boost she was able to apply for positions. She was placed in a work placement and her hours slowly increased. Although she found that she was getting tired at the same time she felt she could manage as her working days were spread out.

As Gill was making excellent progress, within a few months she started to look for paid positions and was informed about a position at her placement. Gill felt the job was a little bit out of her league but the manager at her branch encouraged her to apply. Her TNG adviser (Nikki Buchman) helped her with the application and highlighted her transferable skills, and Gill's intention was to only apply for the position in order to gain experience from the interview process if she was successful. She found out that she got through to the next stage of her application and she attended mock interview sessions with her adviser on several occasions to prepare for the interview.

Gill was up against other internal applicants but managed to succeed and was offered the position of the Development Assistant for 8hrs a week. Her employer is slowly increasing her hours and she continues to thrive in her work and self confidence. She is well prepared and motivated to sustain her position at 16hrs per week once she is sure her health condition will allow this.

"TNG helped me to change my life! The best thing I learnt was how to be more confident, which was achieved through interview training and the support of TNG".

Gill attended the TNG offices in Grantham