Port Glasgow woman bravely kick-started her career after years of serious illness

Nicola Young, 30, suffers from Crohn's disease, which became so debilitating that she couldn't work.

After six years out of the workforce, and with a college course under her belt, she is now delighted to have landed a job with Financial Fitness in Greenock following a successful placement through a programme managed by Trust Employability Services, funded by Inverclyde Council.

Nicola said: "I have really enjoyed my six months with Financial Fitness and am delighted to be officially joining the team.

"It's a great place, we are only a small team of nine and and everyone is really helpful.

"We all get on well together and it's good to be part of a team.

"I have settled in really well and I'm now looking forward to continuing to help as many people as possible, especially in these difficult times.

"It's the first job I've ever had that I've really enjoyed and wanted to be a part of."

Nicola says that her Crohn's was so out of control that it affected all aspects of her life.

She said: "I had a few jobs before, I worked in IBM and for Ardgowan Hospice but then I became ill for a long period of time.

"I had Crohn's and for six years it affected my life really badly."

After finally getting her condition under control, Nicola decided to go back to college.

She said: "I decided to retrain and went to West College Scotland to study for an HND in administration and IT.

"The job centre referred me to the Trust Employability Services in September and I was approached by the Future Jobs Programme, who helped me get my CV up to date and with filling in application forms."

She successfully interviewed for the paid placement with Financial Fitness last October through the Trust, who place unemployed people with local not-for-profit organisations.

Nicola also underwent welfare benefits training with the Child Poverty Action Group in Glasgow, funded by the Trust.

She said: "There are not many opportunities like that, especially if you have been out of work for a while.

"It can be a scary situation going back into the workplace but those six months on the placement gave me confidence and helped me.

"The Trust kept checking in on me to see how I was doing.

"I would definitely recommend going along to them, especially if you need help with CVs or application forms and courses as well.

"I re-started my life three years ago and now I've got this job."

Paul Findlay, manager at Financial Fitness, says Nicola is a great asset for his team.

He said: "Nicola has been excellent since she joined us and we are very pleased with her progress.

"She has accessed lots of internal and external training which has built up her skills and knowledge and the rest of the staff team have supported her along the way too.

"We are very happy to have her remain with us an adviser, especially as we see more and more people contacting us for help in the current crisis.

"Nicola becomes the fourth staff member to have joined our organisation through the Future Jobs Fund programme and this shows that the programme really works for both employees and employers."

Kevin Millar, a senior employer engagement worker with the Trust, said: "The Future Jobs programme plays a key role in preparing Inverclyde's young workforce for the world of work."