TNG helps tackles unemployment in Stockton

At the end of last year, Anthony Dixon, 28, from Stockton, had spent the last year searching for work, and was facing the start of the new decade on benefits.

Now, after working with TNG, a national welfare to work training organisation, he is on the Subway Fast Track Management Scheme, looking forward to what the future holds. Having worked for eight years as a warehouse assistant for Woolworths, he was shocked when the company went into administration. He suddenly found himself unemployed, during the most difficult economic climate in a generation. Soon, the country was in recession, and although he did some voluntary work, there were just too few vacancies for him to find a job on his own.

In January this year, Anthony was referred to TNG by his Jobcentre Plus adviser, who is an end-to-end partner of A4e, delivering the Flexible New Deal contract in Stockton, committed to help the long term unemployed find a personalised route back into employment. At TNG, Anthony was referred to a Personal Job Adviser, Keely Jukes, who assessed his work history, qualifications and career goals to draw up a personalised back to work plan. Anthony had qualifications in catering, and had done some voluntary work experience as a chef at his local college.

Anthony worked on developing his CV and took part in practical exercises to improve his job application skills. The employer engagement team at TNG discovered that Subway, the international sandwich chain, was looking for candidates for its Fast Track Management Scheme. Anthony was advised to apply, and was successful.

Anthony is now undergoing a year’s training, and by the end of it he will be a fully qualified Subway manager. He said, “I had been working for the same company for eight years, so when I suddenly lost my job, I didn’t know where to turn. I tried sending CVs, voluntary work and just asking around friends and family if they knew of anyone hiring, but no where seemed to be employing anyone during a recession.

"TNG were fantastic, they gave me help and advice on updating and improving my CV, and their network of contacts meant they knew about the Subway management scheme. It seemed perfect, allowing me to work in catering and develop a real career. Now, I’m looking forward to a future with a career I enjoy, which I never would have found without TNG’s help."

Jarred Gough, Business Manager at TNG Stockton, said, "Anthony is a good example of the work that TNG does in Stockton. We don’t just put people into jobs; we look at what skills they already have and what their career goals are and try to match them up. We help to develop people’s skills to make them ready for work, and help to improve their confidence so they feel good about applying for jobs they might not have considered before. Anthony has worked hard and deserves all of his success."