Heather was working as a teacher in a school in Germany, but her health deteriorated, and she was forced to come back home to Ayrshire to be closer to her family.
Why did Heather join Fair Start Scotland?
Heather found herself out of work and feeling unsure about how to get back into work. She had worked abroad, and she felt unfamiliar with how the workforce back in Scotland had changed. Heather wanted a change in career, she knew she didn’t want to return to a school environment.
Heather fell ill which knocked her confidence, she was unsure of her own abilities. She knew she needed support in familiarising herself in the workplace but also needed to be more confident when looking for work and attending interviews.
How Fair Start Scotland helped?
Heather met with her Personal Adviser, Alex from Ayr, working together they look at what she enjoyed doing and look at her strengths so that they could factor these into her career choice.
Heather was really passionate about working with young people and enjoyed teaching, so they decided to explore self-employment opportunities looking particular at being a private tutor within her local area.
Heather was signposted to support her with more in-depth business start-up information and worked closely with personal adviser. Heather followed her action plan and worked through all the steps and legal processes to achieve her goal.
Alex was given information, advice, guidance, marketing literature as well as some stationary items to get started. She attended the Mini Steps workshop which helped reaffirm her confidence in her own ability.
Getting the job
Heather is now building up her student caseload and to date she is supporting seven students. She has grown in confidence, holding consultations to parents in the aim of gaining further students to tutor.
Heather can control her time and effectively plan her work life around her personal life which has greatly improved her health. She has found a new passion and is excited to be on a new venture which she can call her own.
Heather has become very proactive by marketing around the local area and advertising her business on social media sites and created her own website. She has expanded her business by selling her resources to students online.
Heather has come a long way since starting Fair Start Scotland, we’ll continue to support Heather in her new business venture.