Courtney joined the service in August 2022 after finishing three years at college studying childcare. She only had one job in retail previously, lasting a few months before she went to college and joined the Fair Start Scotland looking for support to get into her ideal career.
As a single mum-of-one, Courtney could often find jobs, but most roles did not have suitable hours accounting for her own childcare needs. However, when her son started school this gave her the opportunity for her to find employment within school time.
Courtney felt she needed help with job searching, interview practice and job applications, so she met with our employer services consultant, who ran through some vacancies and contacted childcare agencies on her behalf.
She didn’t know what to expect from an interview so the team set up mock sessions to help her get used to the interview format. This really boosted Courtney’s confidence and as a result she felt better prepared for questions from employers.
Courtney is now working for North Ayrshire Council at a nursery within a primary school - her ideal job. Working from 11.30am to 3.30pm Monday to Friday, means she can still take her son to school and pick him up.
Courtney plans to stay within the same nursery and wants to progress up to management and looks forward to thriving from extra responsibility one day. When her son is older and able to walk to school independently, she will eventually increase her working hours and move up to full-time.
She said: “I want to thank Fair Start Scotland for its continued support. Achieving my ideal job would not have been possible without it.”