Back in 2015 we recommended one of our young people Sinead Patterson to The Bazaar Group in Cramlington for a Business Admin Apprenticeship. Sinead came to use the Employability Project after leaving College. Although Sinead had great GCSE grades she lacked confidence and had no work experience. During her time with us Sinead completed a number of online accreditation’s and workers worked closely with her to build on her confidence and self esteem. When the Bazaar Group approached us and asked if we had anyone we felt would be suitable for the upcoming vacancy, Sinead was the obvious choice. She was very pleased and excited but incredibly nervous especially as she had never experienced an interview before, but with support from Staff at Silx she created a CV and smashed the interview being offered the apprenticeship almost immediately!
We are so incredibly proud of Sinead and what she has achieved, fast forward three years, Sinead has completed her business admin apprenticeship, progressed onto a level 3 apprenticeship and is now employed by the company full time and this year won the Northumberland College ‘Rising Star: Apprentice of the year’ accolade.
Sinead Said; ‘‘After being a regular at Silx for many years, I started attending the employability sessions regularly when I was 16 to help me find work after going to college and realising that this was not for me. Silx recommended me for an Apprenticeship at Bazaar Group within a customer service role in September 2015 and for the next 1.5 years; I completed my Level 2 Business Admin qualification before progressing to Level 3 Customer Service. Silx have really helped me not only in securing a permanent full time job and gaining qualifications, but also helped with my confidence and techniques leading up to the job interview which has had a lasting impact overall. I am now employed full time by the company working as a Sales and Operations Advisor, and recently won the ‘Rising Star’ Apprentice of the year award from Northumberland College as part of the National Apprenticeship week 2019’.
