Grateful boss offers welfare to work support

A Blackburn boss, who is enjoying a new career after 15 years out of work, is now offering valuable work opportunities to other Shaw Trust clients.

Alex Hamilton, Glasgow-based Allander Securityís Senior Supervisor Edinburgh East, has already welcomed three people into jobs and he also takes time out to take nervous clients through confidence-building mock interviews.

Meanwhile his company, which gave Alex his big break, is eager to form even closer links with Shaw Trust, which is the UKís leading provider of employment services for people disadvantaged in the labour market due to disability, ill health or social circumstances.

ìI want other people to have the same chance to change their life that I did,î says Alex, 49.

ìI thought I had nothing to offer anyone, and yet here am, doing a job I love when I feared Iíd never work again. I wouldnít be where I am now if it wasnít for Shaw Trustís Hazel Rutherford. She does a fantastic job, and Iíll do everything in my power to support her work.î

Father of one, Alex was in his early thirties and in the grip of a successful but stressful sales career when high blood pressure stopped him in his tracks.

ìThereís a family history of the condition and my job didnít help, but it was still an almighty blow because Iíd always been so active,î admits Alex, who had also been a part time fireman for ten years.

ìI had to give up work on doctorsí orders and things went from bad to worse. Even though the high blood pressure will never go away, I was dying to get back to work. But every year, the doctor would look at my medical results and send me away again.î

Alex tried to keep himself occupied doing DIY but even the toughest improvement projects pall after a few years, and after 15, Alex was at the end of his tether. ìIt wasnít just the boredom, I felt terrible. When youíre not working, you donít feel part of the real world,î he says.

ìEventually Iíd had enough, and when I got the offer of a job, I wanted to go for it. But by then Iíd lost self confidence and after an eternity on IB I was frightened of making the break from benefits to work. Then I was advised to contact Shaw Trust, and everything changed.î

Shaw Trust offers advice and support to empower people looking to make the break from welfare to work. Falkirk-based Employment Consultant Hazel Rutherford told Alex about permitted hours, which meant he could ease back into work, without losing his benefits for the first year. Even more crucially, she was there whenever he needed advice or support.

ìI canít praise her enough,î Alex says simply.
ìI could phone her anytime and afterwards Iíd feel like a different person - a positive person who could achieve anything he put his mind to,î he explained.

Alex has now been working for Allander Security, covering the night shifts, for nearly two years. He is a changed man, says Hazel.

ìHe glows with confidence now and he is doing so well,î she reports.

ìIt gives you such a buzz when someone turns their life around like Alex has.

ìAnd now heís opening doors for other clients, not only with jobs but by helping people to hone their skills through mock interviews. Heís an ideal employer, as far as weíre concerned, because he has empathy with our clients, some of whose self confidence is very fragile. Alex
understands because heís been there.

ìWhatís more, he is the perfect example of what it is possible to achieve when you believe in yourself.î

* Shaw Trust is looking for the 160,000 people it has helped over the last 25 years, as part of its silver anniversary celebrations.

Clients can make contact via the website www.shaw-trust.org.uk where a contact form will be available, or by phoning Becky Gammon on 01225 779481 for more information.