Employability Training with Porchlight residents

Being homeless can count against you when going for a job. Now, Bluewater and its co-owner Land Securities are working with Porchlight and The Learning Shop to tackle this all-too-common problem.

They are paying for employment training which will help Porchlight residents overcome the disadvantages they faced in the past. The week-long course is being delivered by The Learning Shop. 

“People who are trying to overcome the complex emotional damage caused by homelessness may think it isn’t possible to change their lives, but it is. Getting a job is the perfect way to start this change. I’ve seen it happen numerous times.”

The vast majority of people that Porchlight support want to find work, but a lack of recent work experience or relevant skills can be a real barrier to doing so. At The Learning Shop, they’ve been learning about the retail industry, customer service and received the same customer communications training as Bluewater staff. Porchlight residents also had a chance to update and improve their CVs and covering letters. The Learning Shop has taken their details and areas of work they are interested in, with the hope of matching them to upcoming vacancies.

“The importance of finding and holding down a job is more than just receiving a monthly salary, and we’re really grateful to Bluewater, Land Securities and The Learning Shop for their support”

“The confidence, self-esteem, routine and structure jobs provide can be the cornerstone of a person’s recovery.”

Visual Merchandising in Modern Retail

3 Day Course – we are now taking booking for August, September, October and November

Click here for course content and available dates

Success story of Ekaterina

After completing 3 of our training programmes Ekaterina secured a Visual Merchandiser position with Uniqlo in Bluewater.

Click here to read the full story

A successful morning at St George’s Church of England School in Gravesend

Talking to students about employability