Barry, 37 was unemployed for over 12 month after he was made redundant from his previous job as a qualified welder. He attempted to find work in the field of his expertise but didn’t have much success and this began to affect his confidence immensely.

Colin was referred to TNG Stockton having been on jobseekers allowance for 12 months.  Previous to this, Colin had lived in Turkey as a self employed property developer.  Unfortunately, this ended in tragedy when he was attacked physically by another individual, leaving him in a critical position and fighting for his life.

John, 20, joined TNG Darlington on the Community Task Force programme in May 2010.  He already volunteered as a youth worker at GADD (Gay Advice Durham and Darlington) and was keen to continue his experience as a volunteer, but wanted to learn additional skills so he could gain paid employment as well.

Kersty, 24, has been unemployed since October 2003 and she last worked in a shoe shop as a sales assistant.  That was the only paid job she’s ever had but she has also done voluntary work in a charity shop and a work trial in a hairdressers.

Kimberly, 19, was studying but decided to get a job instead.

Michael, 57, had over 35years of experience in the motor industry. He was made redundant from his job as an MOT specialist and began looking for work but didn’t seem to have much success with the job hunt.

Michael, 46, suffered a brain haemorrhage nine years ago which left him unable to speak or walk.  Michael gradually began the long process of learning to walk and talk again and with astounding determination and his resilient attitude, he has returned to walking again and, although his speech has improved tremendously, it is still a struggle to maintain conversations with people.

Robert, 38 previously worked for East Anglian Daily Times Newspaper as a sales representative for 12yrs dealing with key advertising accounts, design of adverts and canvassing for new customers. He was made redundant from his last job in 2008.

TNG in Darlington has recently achieved it’s first self employment success on the Flexible New Deal programme.

Shaun, 31 was qualified with an NVQ Level 2 in Fitness instruction and worked as a prison officer fitness instructor for 4yrs. In Jan 2009, Shaun made a life changing decision to resign from his position because he wanted a change in his career.

Shaynetelle, 22, had been looking for a job for over a year prior to coming to TNG on the programme.    She has only ever worked in nurseries, her last role being a nursery assistant.

Tracey, 46, has been working in a Bingo Hall for 10 years.

The help Tracey received in putting together a CV and writing speculative letters has really benefitted her.  She was received two invitations to interviews and gained a job.

Trevor, 54, from Middlesbrough, had worked for a large multi-national supermarket chain for just under three years before joining TNG. Working with a heavy workload and in a busy department, Trevor suffered from stress and as a result he left the company in October 2008.