Future Jobs Fund blog

Glass Half Full

2010-10-05T10:59:00.000+01:00

Almost coming up to 3 months on my FJF contract now, and so far it has been a fun learning experience and rollercoaster of a ride. I have mainly been doing research on other organizations/trusts/charities for potential funding opportunities for Novas Scarman. Although my job title is Research Assistant, I have dabbled my hands in many areas of administration on top of my primary job roles.

I have undertaken tasks such as photocopying, filing, typing letters, sending out emails, cold calling, chasing people for documents, and booking meeting rooms. I have also covered the main reception and operated the switchboard, and I have also visited the JobCentrePlus and presented the FJF programme to job-seekers. I have also attended four PATH training courses; Report Writing, Career Management, Managing Conflict, and Leadership Skills. They were all very good and provided me with information and tips that will be useful to me both in and out of the workplace.

I have met some wonderful people here at Novas Scarman who have helped me fit in since the day I started, especially my team members. It definitely does not feel like 3 months have passed already, more like 3 weeks! But I feel I have gained an enormous wealth of experience, confidence, and set of skills, and this can only improve over the coming months.

Idris Kayat.

Future Jobs Fund Interviews

2010-07-28T12:31:00.000+01:00

Novas Scarman Group interviews future job funds employees on their journey through the scheme

My Experience at Novas Scarman

2010-07-21T10:58:00.000+01:00

So here I am, 5 months later. I feel like I’ve come a long way. I had never before worked in an office environment- but now it feels like second nature to me. One of the key improvements I have found is my organisation. At first I found it difficult to keep track of all the new material and projects, but now I have a recorded database for each project, with contact names, email adresses, phone numbers, and a running record. Also, I have ingrained the habit of recording all events and meetings in a shared calendar, not only to remind myself, but to co-ordinate with my line manager Anna, when to do what. This is merely one development I have achieved.

Unexpectly, I have found the office to have a relaxed atmosphere where everyone gets along, has a few laughs, grabs a few cups of coffe a day,and help is always there when needed. As there is currently only seven of us at the Nottingham office, teamwork is essential to success and progress. It is even more important that we get along- and fortunately the workforce has within it some of the friendliest employee’s I have ever met. We work very professionally- we dress smart, have our own business cards to distribute, treat confidentiality and data protection with utmost importance (something unfamilliar in my previous employers), and we work hard. In a few days I felt I was part of the team, and already I could picture myself going far in this spontaneous employment.

Although I would label myself as a very social person, I have found talking with almost anyone to be easy and comfortable. Simply because I have found the community sector attracts often the kindest and friendliest people to communicate with. People think and act differently in the private sector, where everything seems geared towards money & financial targets. It has been a real pleasure meeting such a diverse bunch of people through Novas Scarman, particularly those in the ‘Re.think’ and ‘Connecting Communities project’, whom I have helped and enjoy company with along the way.

Overall, with Novas Scarman, I feel like I have unlocked my greater potential- I am still the same person, but I’ve evolved into a pro-active, confident, organised and enthusiastic individual that I have never witnessed before.

Steven Fretter, 23

Journeys End

2010-07-21T10:43:00.000+01:00

I am coming to an end of my contract with Novas, I have enjoyed my time and experiences here, I have learned and developed a lot within the six months such as negotiating, communicating effectively, being assertive, interview skills and techniques, and thus becoming a more confident and determined person.
I feel that the relationship between myself and the staff has only grown and developed into mutual respect and admiration for the staff and what they do and the energy they bring to the company.

I could not have asked for a friendlier and welcoming team around me, again I am thankful for such a wonderful experience and to be received the way I have. I am confident that I can face any challenges that lay ahead thanks to the improved foundations I have built and modified while at Novas with the aid of my immediate and extended team members.

Jerome Prince, 24

Goodbye and Good luck

2010-05-19T19:16:00.000+01:00

After worrying in my last post about what will happen after i leave NSG it turns out I needn't have worried as I have found a job and start next week :). I finish at Novas Scarman today :o(
I have really enjoyed my time here and feel it has been a great stop gap for me in between finding a new job. I have learnt so many new and interesting skills that will help me in the future such as working with CRM systems, collecting and writing content for the company website/intranet and so much more.
I'm very grateful to the Future jobs fund and Novas Scarman for giving me this opportunity over the past 5 months.
Future Jobs Fund is a real worthwhile scheme if you put the hard work in. You can learn a lot and gain a lot of experience and confidence which was quite important to me after being out of work for so long it did have an effect on my confidence.
I hope my experience will help others and realise that if they work hard there is a work life after NSG and FJF.
I want to thank everyone at NSG for their time and effort especially Justin Morris who was my manager in the coms dept for his time and effort with me.
I wish the rest of the FJF guys all the luck for the future.

Katie Williams, 24

Half Way Point.....

2010-05-10T23:14:00.000+01:00

I have reached the near half way point in my employment contract and I have continued to fulfil my previous duties amongst new tasks which include: ensuring record keeping and fundraising database files are managed and maintained to give accuracy and a high quality source of information for use of the group, as well as researching new funding streams and fundraising activities. In this part of the work my main responsibilities are to maintain the work I have produced so that it is up-to-date, Also I have been doing research into sourced contacts i.e. obtaining contact details and assisting my manager to stream line her processes and workload to give added efficiency.

Jerome Prince, 24

May Already.....

2010-05-04T18:12:00.000+01:00

So it’s May already can’t believe how fast this year is going. Soon it will be half way through the year than dare I say we will all be thinking about Christmas again…Eeeek!!! Scary. Also very conscious that my contract here at Novas Scarman will be coming to a head in July. I hope by than I have a full time job lined up I don’t want to have to sign on again and visit the dreaded jobcentre :-O
It’s a shame FJF contracts are not longer than 6 months because afterwards if you don’t have a job lined up what do you do? Go back on the dull? Do another 6 months somewhere else? It will be nice to have some job stability again.
Over the past few weeks I have been a busy bee. I have been working on our new Intranet system, getting to grips with the functions, updating staff directory, and adding content. My boss described as the “intranet guru” the other day hehehe not quite sure I’m up to guru status but I’m grateful for the praise.
One of the other tasks I am working on is an internal communications strategy and how to get people engaging with their colleagues. It is very important that people communicate with other’s something that I think doesn’t always happen in places. If anyone reading this has any ideas please feel free to comment and let me know your ideas. Two heads are better than one as they say.
Right back to work now will update again soon. In the meantime also look out for other FJF employee’s and their blog entries.

Katie Williams 24

Developing my Skills

2010-04-13T22:09:00.000+01:00

It has been over three months since I started my FJF placement at Novas and I now feel comfortable within my position and more confident about my ability to carry out assigned tasks. One advantage to being an FJF recruit at Novas is that I have the opportunity to attend a number of training courses, each aimed at developing my skills within a particular area of work. The courses are varied, for example, some are designed to improve confidence and communication skills, skills that are essential for progression in any job, whilst other courses like find your focus, encourage you to think a little about your own specific goals. I have attended three of these courses so far, Find Your Focus was particularly useful as I left with a better understanding of the sort of area of work I would like to go into. For me this is a significant step forward as not knowing what I wanted to do was really hindering my progression.

Holly Inch, 24

Over a month working at Novas Scarman

2010-04-06T19:07:00.000+01:00

The six weeks that I have been working for NSG seemed to have flown by at a fleeting pace. My two previous jobs were nothing of the sort- at stadium leisure, every minute was uncomfortable, and hours dragged at Debenhams, whereupon my experience mainly revolved around 'recovery' (in other words tidying the shelves every five minutes). NSG is nothing like this- finally I've found an occupation that I thoroughly enjoy, and one that is challenging-one to look forward to waking up every morning, which is something I never expected.I seem to have moulded to the shape of my job almost effortlessly, naturally, unconsciously. A workmate said to me that because of how laid back and comfortable I seemed, she said it felt like 'I had been working there for ages'. This was a warming comment, and only then did I begin to realise that I felt that way too. Sometimes I'm so comfortable that I accidentally stay an extra half hour by accident without even realising!I am happy to have this Easter holiday to relax and also reflect. Though with a cold, I feel a sense of purpose in my life again, and feel comfortable exactly where I am in my life now.

Steve Fretter, 24

Half way through....

2010-03-16T23:06:00.000Z

Three Months in and everything is still going well. I can’t believe I am half way through my contract here at Novas Scarman.
The training courses have started. A list of the courses we could attend throughout our time here was sent to us to choose and I have attended 2 courses so far, one on Project management and one on new media & Social networking both have been really interesting. Project management gave me a really good insight into the best way of planning projects, like what you need to think about before and during, and different tools to use. It was also nice to meet some more FJF employee’s.
Over the next coming weeks I have booked on to attend Confidence and assertiveness in the work place, working with management and communicating effectively and relationship building.
As part of my day to day job I have been given the task of updating the intranet which is a really big job, I will also be attending some training sessions on this and possibly running them for other people as this is something I will use a lot. Also I am working on ideas for an external newsletter something that I have never done before. I think this will be a good opportunity for me to liaise with other members of the organisation and learn some valuable skills which can be transferred into my next job.

Katie Williams, 24

My Confidence is back...

2010-03-16T23:03:00.000Z

It’s been 3 months since I started working for Novas Scarman I feel a lot better about my work and my skills. My confidence is back and I can express my ideas and know that they will be taken onboard and acted upon.
Like my plan to generate more business. This plan was the development of a cinema night at the CUC that is open to the staff and the public. I saw an opportunity and acted on it. It did take a while to put the action into place as I wasn’t too sure who was in charge of what in our department. I feel I have joined a really good team. I have met difference types of people outside of our marketing team who know a bit about something. I usually like to think of myself as a self proclaimed “know it all” but I have learnt a few new things about the use of social media and podcasting. To me these seemed like places that people went (online or radio) to have a moan about something and take no action. But I was shown by my boss that it could be used as a business to business communication tool. I was still unsure at first why businesses would want to use this tool. But with new media increasing in use, businesses have to adapt keep up with the trend of the customer.
I think I joined Novas Scarman at a good time, the organisation is currently looking at rebranding and as this was an area I wanted to go into when I left Uni. My boss has invited me along to the branding meeting to see what I can pick up and I have also been told about the opportunity to work one extra day a week at a new media agency.
Watch this space.

Victor Ohene, 23

Future Jobs Fund with Novas Scarman

2010-01-26T16:27:00.000Z

“Not enough experience” That’s what they told me.

I thought I had it all, the confidence, a university degree, living in London and work experience. Let’s not forget the life experience from living away from home. But nothing can really prepare you for a recession when you’re age 18 to 24.

Soon as I left University I came back to London with a student debt. I applied for jobs and after a few months I was contacted for an interview and I was offered a trail in a marketing role for a branding company. After 2 and a half weeks of being told I was good enough for the job by my potential boss I was contacted by the general manager for an interview and was told that because of the recession they can find some one with more experience in the industry that would possess more contacts than just a graduate.

It was a shock to me, I felt that they were wrong to kept me strung along for that long as I believed that my experience was actually worth something. The follow 6 months turned into a cycle of trips to the job centre and applying online, sending my C.V, calling people. This would usually turn out the same outcome, either no response or a letter with the dreaded one-liner “Not enough experience”. I did get 2 interviews but I was told I was one of many candidates.
This took a knock on my confidence as I was applying for even the entry level jobs. The same thing was happening to my friends who were repeating my story. Some eventually settled on taking the odd Christmas job and seeing where they could take it from there.

I was eventually contacted by the Job Centre and told about the Future Jobs Fund (FJF) and was told that this new government scheme would be beneficial to me.
I applied for a Marketing position with Novas Group then just after Christmas I was called in for an interview.
In the interview I was asked what I wanted to get out of working for Novas Scarman, “I told them some credible experience that I could put on my C.V. and the chance to use my skills and knowledge before they slowly slip away”

I have been working for Novas Scarman for a few weeks now, with small team of 3 members also (FJF) candidates working on the marketing and development of Novas Scarman. I have been given the chance to work solo on some projects a feel this like my input is worth something.
Victor Ohene, 22