three believe housing customers get the New Start they needed

A debut novelist, a chef with arthritis, and a single mother have all been able to kick-start their admin careers with housing provider believe housing.

Jasmine Wigham, Nadine Stubbs and Kimberley Brain all had different reasons for wanting a job in administration but didn’t know how to get one without prior experience or qualifications.

That was until believe housing created career start administrative assistant positions in its grant-giving Community Investment Team, exclusively for customers.

English and history graduate Jasmine recently submitted her debut novel, a paranormal fantasy called Cradle of Secrets, to publishers in the UK and US for consideration, and wanted a new job that would allow her to continue writing.

The 26-year-old, from Peterlee, said: “I graduated in 2019 and got a job in retail after uni, but it was meant to be temporary.

“I’ve tried to apply to admin roles in the past, a lot of the time you need experience or a qualification, but you can’t get experience until someone gives you a chance.

“When this came up it just fit really well, it’s part-time which works perfectly around my writing.

“My first book has been sent to publishers so hopefully I’ll be selling it, but it’s not a big earner.

“So, this is great to have some money coming in every month and a chance to learn new skills.”

Qualified chef Nadine, 50, from Bowburn, loved working in hotel, restaurant and school kitchens for more than 30 years but, with arthritis in her hands and feet, she found the work increasingly difficult.

“I’d thought about retraining but couldn’t afford to do training without earning.

“This is a fantastic opportunity, giving me new skills to build on in future while being paid,” she said.

And 32-year-old Kimberley, from Coxhoe, said: “I’ve a three-year-old son and hadn’t really worked for a while.

“Once I had enough free childcare to get a job, I wanted something in admin, and working partly from home really helps. I’m really enjoying it.”

The roles were created as part of the New Start scheme, which offers paid placements with training to people living in social housing who are looking for their first job or to change career path.

Developed by HENNE (Housing Employment Network North East) partners, the innovative New Start programme has been hugely successful. It is about more than just numbers into employment, it delivers a wide range of positive outcomes for tenants and residents.

Damian Pearson, Community Investment Performance Team Leader at believe housing, said: “We had vacancies in my section and wanted to do things differently, to help the organisation and to help our tenants.

“We worked closely with our Employability Team and encouraged tenants to apply.

“It was a lot quicker process than going out to advert, interviewing and waiting for people to be available to come into post.

“So, it was a bit of a win-win situation for the organisation as it was also really good because it supported our tenants.”

Rachel Edmunds, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at believe housing, added: “These New Start roles have enabled us to support three customers, who for different reasons needed this opportunity.

“This is us living our values and vision of ‘life without barriers’.

“They will gain real paid work experience with holistic wraparound support and they’re doing rewarding and important work.”