The latest installment of our participants’ journeys during COVID19 comes from Iain Van Maaren, a resident of the Antrim and Newtownabbey area
Iain joined NOW Group’s job-support project VERVE in February 2019. While he had some work experience, this was a long time ago and he was nervous about working again.
At first, Iain’s confidence was low. It took many one-to-one meetings for him to believe that (a) he was good enough to work and (b) that he would find a job that he enjoyed.
One thing about Iain, though, is that he has always been very good at engaging and taking every opportunity he could to better himself. During lockdown, this was no different.
Iain enthusiastically took part in NOW’s various online classes. And not only did he absolutely love them, he became an integral part of the group. What’s more, he was so proud of himself for having achieved qualifications in lockdown.
Around the same time, Iain and his support officer Josh were busy applying for a number of positions, but the difficult economic picture meant that he had no luck. He responded in the right way to the adversity, though, and didn’t let it annoy him or take it personally.
Finally, hard work, patience and a great attitude paid off for Iain. Having applied for a job at The Range about a year ago, his fortunes changed when the company were in a position to offer him a job working in their stockroom.
The rest, as they say, is history. Iain started his first shift in The Range on Sunday 18 October. While it is early days, we are elated to share that not only has he found a job that he can enjoy, but he is already thriving in it, too.