Step Ahead Temps - Charity Sector

 

“Hi – I’m Shane, and I’m a graduate and an actor. I had just finished two consecutive tours, Shakespeare’s Henry V and As You Like It when I first contacted Step Ahead.

Friends recommended Step Ahead as very honest and down to earth bunch, and I knew they had placed other actors in temporary work, so I didn’t feel I had to pretend I was looking for a long-term career as an administrator.

But ever since Step Ahead placed me as a PA at St John’s Ambulance in Nov 2007 I’ve been thoroughly enjoying myself. I work in the Communications department, which is great because I love coming up with ideas, and it’s not at all hierarchical here at St John Ambulance – everyone is invited to contribute to brainstorms and every one’s view is valued. That was a big surprise to me when I arrived!

Another part of my job involves talking to employment agencies to fill other posts that we have here - that has been quite illuminating, as I sometimes get quite a sense of ‘hard sell’, which I never got from Step Ahead.

Apart from feeling involved, the job’s also very rewarding – it’s nice to feel that you are doing something good with your day, and giving something back.”

Shane Armstrong

 

“Hi – I’m Lina, and I’m on my third placement with Step Ahead. The first two were not-for-profit organisations, but now I’m working for a housing charity and I love it!

The job here is much more complex than the previous ones, but I like it that way. Although it’s an administrative role, I have to write the final reports at outcomes stage when a client leaves our service, and that is really interesting. It’s a nice, friendly environment, where the staff are caring and take their jobs very seriously.

After nine months as a temp, I have just been offered a permanent job as a support worker. I’ll be dealing directly with the clients, which is brilliant, as I always wanted to work with people. I already have a degree in psychology, which has been an important starting point, but the additional hands-on experience has been really valuable and a very important factor in getting this job.

The temporary work has been really important because without it, I wouldn’t have even known that such an interesting job was available to me! 

Lina Yeboah