December 2021
AVS and YMCA Downslink - Jack's Story
Jack joined the AVS Worthing team in September 2021 as part of the first intake of young people from our new partnership with YMCA Downslink. Following a successful trial month of supervised, structured training, Jack then went on to start a further two month period with us, in which he quickly became an established member of the Worthing branch team.
Jack has been trained in a variety of environments during the past two months, gaining invaluable on-the-job experience - working in the timber yard with customers, learning new woodworking skills in the workshop, serving on the counter in the shop and helping out in the office.
Another impressive development has been in Jack's driving skills - after in-house training with our Transport Department, Jack is now a fully certified, qualified Forklift Operator.
Marc Ferris, Branch Manager at AVS Worthing commented "This whole project with YMCA Downslink has been incredibly rewarding, not only for Jack but also for me and the rest of the AVS team. I am so proud of how Jack has developed, and how the branch team has embraced and supported Jack over the past three months.
After completing Jack's assessment I'm delighted to announce that he will be joining AVS Worthing as a full-time member of staff from January."
Ciaran Morton, Group Marketing Director commented "Huge congratulations to Jack for this achievement. By providing this structured pathway to employment for disadvantaged young people, we can offer an introduction to a range of skills including office work, customer service, teamwork, even carpentry skills in our bespoke workshop. We're looking forward to extending this initiative to our branch network throughout Sussex and Surrey in 2022."
