Phil Younger tells Jobcentre Plus how having the support of a Personal Adviser gave him the confidence to get back to work

When Phil was made redundant from his job as a production supervisor, he didn’t know which way to turn. He called into his local Jobcentre, where he was put in touch with a Personal Adviser. That’s when everything started to bloom.

Phil is now studying for a HND in arboriculture, whilst working two days a week as a conservation gardener for the National Trust.

"My Personal Adviser, Jim Almond, found me a course, with some work experience at the National Trust," says Phil.

"Without the help of Jobcentre Plus, I probably wouldn’t be working now." Taking up the story, Jim says, "Phil was on the New Deal Education and Training option and had completed a year at college in arboriculture. He wanted to carry on studying towards a B-Tech so that he could do some lecturing in the future. But Phil was tattooed on his face and hands and I was wondering if it might be holding him back."

As it turned out, Phil had wanted to get rid of his tattoos for years. So Jim made use of the Adviser Discretionary Fund and paid for them to be removed.

"Phil is a reserved person and after this he really opened up," says Jim. “He told me about his placement at the National Trust, so I called them to explain how a New Deal subsidy could help."

They didn’t need much persuading. Phil's knowledge and enthusiasm had already made a great impression.

So when a conservation gardening job came up at Gibside Chapel, he was the obvious choice.

Commenting on Phil‘s success, Sandra Ellis of the National Trust says; "New Deal made it possible for us to employ Phil, he’s made all the effort and we’ve reaped all the benefits."

"Phil’s enthusiasm and knowledge of wildlife is wonderful and just what we needed at the Trust."