Newly single mother of two rebuilds her life and gains stability for her young children. She is now working in a job doing what she loves and is looking forward to her future.
Why Samantha joined Fair Start Scotland
Samantha came to the service in January 2021 for support as she had recently moved to the Cumnock area to be closer to her parents following a separation from her partner. Samantha was now a single parent of two young children and had to manage childcare herself. Even though she was eager to find a job to give her financial stability, she struggled to find a role that would fit around her.
How did Fair Start Scotland help?
Personal adviser, Laura discussed Samantha’s job goals and experience to help create a CV relevant to the jobs she was interested in. Samantha had a passion for spending time outdoors and tending to her garden, so with this in mind Laura encouraged her to focus on jobs around gardening.
Laura supported Samantha to contact suitable employers and arranged an appointment with employer services consultant, Lauren in order to have her support. Lauren arranged an interview for Samantha with Ayrshire Food Hub for the Café Assistant role to give her interview practice.
Samantha started to worry about childcare, she could see how real the prospect of securing work was. Personal adviser, Laura contacted childcare agency CARIS who supported Samantha to find a childminder for her children so that everything was in place for when she secured employment.
Getting the job
Even though Samantha was unsuccessful in the interview, Lauren managed to find her a job as a Café Assistant at Gemmells Garden Centre, she felt this would be better suited. To help her prepare for her interview she took part in several mock interviews and has now successfully secured the Café Assistant position and is thrilled.
Since being in the role, Samantha has been promoted to a Garden Assistant role and she is looking forward to growing within the business.
Having a job has enabled Samantha to purchase a new house and have a stable home for her children. She feels like it’s a fresh start, the children are settled in school and she’s in a job that she loves.