A few weeks ago Alec, a previous Helm young person, popped in to our building to share his story. He is now an Assistant Manager at Kwik Fit and really believes Helm changed his life.
“Without Helm I wouldn’t be who I am today. I wouldn’t have had these opportunities and building on my people skills has been life changing.”
Alec came to Helm in April 2021 after leaving school and having no ideas about what to do next. A family member recommended Helm to him, so he decided to give it a go. At first, he struggled with poor attendance and timekeeping, however the team worked alongside Alec to show him the importance of these. Alec worked on his SQA qualifications before attending Helm Autocare because he showed an interest in cars. Alec mentioned this is where he felt he turned a corner and really began to get stuck in to learning and working on his people skills.
Alec progressed into a work placement where he continued to flourish and show he was committed to learning and working hard. He left Helm in September 2021 having secured full time employment as a warehouse operative.
A few months later, Alec saw a job advertised at Kwik Fit and instantly knew he wanted to apply. He reached out to Malcolm who provided him with a reference. Alec was successful and began his role as a tyre fitter. He used the skills he learnt from Helm, and the team could quickly see he was very good with the customers so began to give him more responsibility. One year later, Alec is now the Assistant Manager at Kwik Fit, and thoroughly enjoying every day.
“Helm is universal but also really tailored, and staff took my skills and personality on board when with working with me. I didn’t have a CV before coming to Helm, but they helped me create one, showed me what employers look for and even secured a work placement for me which was a great opportunity especially in the height of Covid when this felt even more limited. I achieved qualifications and people skills at Helm.”
“My best part about being at Helm was meeting all the staff. I didn’t have great skills at speaking to other people, but staff really supported me, and it didn’t feel like they were just doing a job, they really built a relationship and invested in me.”
Well done Alec, we are all so proud of how far you have come on your journey!