A jobseeker from Prestonpans, 58-year-old Denis McCrudden, has finally broken a five year cycle of unemployment, depression and anxiety thanks to a new job at the recently-opened Co-operative food store in the town. Denis is one of 10 previously unemployed new recruits at the store in the Links Shopping Centre, which has joined forces with Work Programme provider Ingeus in Musselburgh to recruit local, long-term unemployed people for some of its vacancies.
Ex-miner Denis previously feared his working life was over after redundancy and personal problems left him with depression and a total lack of confidence. However, after working with specialist Employment and Health Advisors at Ingeus, he is now a familiar and friendly face at the store, where his role selling lottery tickets, phone top-ups and newspapers in the kiosk has quickly progressed to a permanent role with increased hours.
“I was determined to get my life back on track but was frightened to even attend the Ingeus meetings at first,” explains Denis. “I was soon given support with stress management and assertiveness and met people in similar situations to me. Gradually I found the confidence to apply for jobs and when my Employment Advisor suggested The Co-operative vacancy I gave it my best shot.”
Despite not having any retail experience, The Co-operative clearly recognised Denis’s abilities and gave him his much-wished-for chance. “I genuinely look forward to going into work now and can’t believe how much more happy and confident I feel,” he said. “Thanks to Ingeus and The Co-operative, I have a purpose in life again and have learnt so much about the job, and myself.”
Ingeus delivers the government’s Work Programme across Scotland and has a growing relationship with The Co-operative to recruit local jobseekers for new and existing stores. Alan Gordon, Operations Manager for The Co-operative Food in East Lothian was responsible for staffing and opening the new Prestonpans store and said:
“We always look to recruit from the local community and having heard of Ingeus’s track record with other stores, I knew I could leave it in their capable hands. They quickly found eligible candidates and we used the Ingeus offices in Musselburgh to host the interviews while the store was being completed.
“It saved us time and money not having to advertise and we recruited 10 valued colleagues as a result. Four other Ingeus clients were also employed at our new Kelso store. Denis is a great example of how his hard work and our relationship with Ingeus can pay dividends for us all.”
Musselburgh is one of 15 Ingeus offices across Scotland which together have supported more than 21,000 people into work to date. Ingeus’s dedicated Employer Services Team provides a range of free recruitment services to employers of all sizes and industries, from one-off vacancies to the full recruitment for a multiple chain. Its specialist advisors also work with local jobseekers to improve employability skills and ensure their suitability and eligibility for work. For more information please visit www.ingeus.co.uk/employers
