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.

John expressed an interest in working in retail to his adviser, Katie, and revealed that he had once gone for the position of supervisor at a retail branch but had been turned down due to lack of experience.  Katie sourced a placement for John at a local branch of the British Heart Foundation, where John was keen to progress quickly and learn retail skills.  A few weeks into the placement, Katie sourced a second placement for John at Age UK where he would be able to volunteer and also work towards an NVQ Level 2 in Retail.  This was an ideal opportunity for John to continue with his volunteer work, as well as expanding his experience and gain qualifications in a retail environment, so he jumped at the chance to attend the placement.

"TNG has been immediately there to get me work experience.  I have continued to work at GADD and got experience from two other shops.  If it wasn’t for TNG and their support, I wouldn’t be able to get to where I wanted to."

John attended our offices in Darlington