
A Day in the Life of David Lowe… WWTW IPS Employment Advisor
We sat down with David to see how he’s settling into his new role within the Employment team at WWTW
New to the team, WWTW Employment Adviser, David, practices an
evidenced based model of employment support called IPS (Individual Placement
and Support). IPS is essentially personalised support for our service users to
help them find and sustain appropriate paid employment. David works as part of
the Manchester IPS team, recognised by the Centre for Mental Health as an IPS
Centre of Excellence.
How are you settling into your new role with WWTW?
I can honestly say that it has been a really smooth
transition. A new job often brings significant changes and a lack of familiarity,
which is enough to make anyone feel anxious. But, Walking With The Wounded
offers an amazing onboarding and induction package. By preparing for my
arrival, immersing me into the team culture, and communicating its vision
clearly, WWTW have helped me to settle into my role quickly. The charity
actively encourages colleagues to communicate as often as possible, which has
helped me to stay on track and develop good habits. Supporting my first two
service-users into a successful appointment has provided me with a huge
confidence boost and a strong foundation to build on moving forward.
What does a typical session with you look like?
I am making a lot of calls at the moment, not just to
review progress towards employment goals, but also to support service-users who
may be struggling during this difficult time. Due to lockdown, the majority of
my sessions are delivered by telephone. In order to best position my
service-users into secured employment, I need to gain their trust.
When interacting with new service-users, the initial
contact involves introducing myself as their Employment Advisor, offering my
services, and getting to know them on a personal level. We then complete a
Vocational Profile to establish goals, the actions needed to achieve these goals,
and to measure how committed the individual is towards achieving a successful
outcome.
As service-leavers, my clients have unrivalled skills
and excellent personal qualities. In order to succeed in the competitive job
market, we often have to create a stand-out CV to match. We also explore common
civilian recruitment processes, interview skills and job searching strategies,
which can be different to what my service-users are used to. Once we have
worked through each of these tangible actions, I will approach local employers
to match my client to their needs, and support both parties to secure a
successful appointment.
What are the greatest challenges your service users face?
Before COVID-19, we were already
operating in a competitive job market. However, with many sectors being
temporarily shut down, the job market has become increasingly crowded. Finding
suitable employment after a military career has often been a challenge. My
service-users suddenly have to find something that fits in well with their
spouse’s career, their children’s schooling, and their financial situation. The
lack of civilian qualifications coupled with a general lack of understanding of
military qualifications amongst businesses can also make the transition into
civilian employment very challenging.
Are you finding that employers are still looking to recruit
during this period? If so, where have you found employment opportunities?
Absolutely. With people being asked to stay home and to shop
online, the demand for courier and logistics services has soared. Most
construction site projects have also been allowed to continue during lockdown,
along with suppliers of plant, tools and specialist equipment. We have had
success in placing some of our service users into these areas.
And lastly, what is the best bit of this job?
The best bit
about this job is that our beneficiaries are at the forefront of everyone’s mind. As a result, this job offers an amazing
sense of fulfilment. It motivates me to know that the time I spend at work is
making a difference to the lives of others. There is also a strong focus on
collaboration here, which is actively encouraged. This provides plenty of
opportunities to meet with a wide range of people from different backgrounds.
Walking With The Wounded also understands the value of social interaction. The
charity is full of inspirational people, each one with a story to tell, which
helps to keep motivations high.
Need support? Find out more about our Employment Programme here