Our Community Employment Advisors are here to help our customers and Homesearch applicants at all stages of life to find their perfect role.
Bonita was referred to the Community Employment team by Step Up after finding herself out of work, aged 51. She was worried about the immediate future but with the help of the team, Bonita found a new start and a whole new direction.
Thanks to Bonita’s enthusiasm and positivity, and with a little nudge from our advisors Sarah and Kerry, she has a blooming new business and a dream job. She hopes her story will inspire others to take the leap.
Bonita said: “Sarah had helped me a few years back so I already knew a bit about the Community Employment team and what they can do. Never in my life had I been out of a job without somewhere to go.
“I'd gone to Step Up for help and they’d put me back in touch with Sarah who helped me with my CV, I’d not really had to think about that for a while. I was just thinking I needed to find something to put me on for the time being.”
With Sarah’s help, Bonita realised that her long-term goal was to start her own business. She first and foremost needed a job to meet her living costs, but she also wanted to pursue her passion for arts and creativity.
Sarah said: “Bonita was very proactive, following up on various opportunities that were sent to her and quickly establishing a strong creative network. She identified roles that interested her and worked through applications, getting to the final stages for two jobs.
“Unfortunately, one was withdrawn, and another was looking for someone with very specific knowledge. But, thanks to Bonita’s persistence, she was successful in securing two casual roles, with Wakefield Council and Farmer Copleys.”
Bonita said: “To get to 51 and decide that you want to change your life and do something new isn’t easy. I’ve always loved being creative and using my art skills and it really helped to be told that this could be a real opportunity to make a go of it.”
Sarah continued helping Bonita to apply for more paid opportunities and referred her to our self-employment advisor, Kerry, to support her ambition to set up her own crafts business. Kerry found that Bonita wanted to sell her art and crafts through local fairs and events, host creative workshops, and exhibit her art with a focus on how it illustrates her mental health journey.
One of the main barriers to self-employment for Bonita was her digital skills. She said: “I’ve never been very good with tech stuff and there was a lot I needed to do if I wanted to look at setting up a business.
“Kerry helped me to register for self-employment with HMRC and set up the self-assessment. She got me going with a business bank account and helped me with a card reader for taking payments at fairs, everything like that she was great with.”
Kerry and Bonita have been working through creating digital forms and processes for invoicing and record keeping for her newly-formed business. This will allow the business to be organised and easy for Bonita to run alongside her new full-time role!
In July 2024, Sarah identified a role with Wakefield Exchange that she thought Bonita would be perfect for. Bonita said she wouldn’t have normally considered herself for the Operations Officer role, but thanks to the CEA team’s encouragement, she decided to go for it.
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Bonita said: “If it wasn’t for them being so supportive and encouraging me to go for it, I wouldn’t have thought it was something I could do. I applied and I got through to the interview, I was a bit nervous, but I came away thinking I’d be a good fit.
“I just tried to put it to the back of my mind after because I really wasn’t sure what to expect. When I got the phone call to say I’d got the job I was just over the moon.
“Between Kerry and Sarah, they’ve completely changed my life, and I can’t thank them enough.”
Our Community Employment Advisors have helped more than 4,500 people, referring over 2,700 to appropriate training and supporting over 1,400 into employment. To find out more contact the Community Employment team on 01977 788825 or email [email protected].