North Ayrshire Council

Parents are joining the workforce and making a real difference to North Ayrshire businesses

A North Ayrshire Council initiative is helping parents to find work while expanding the talent pool for local employers.

The Council’s Step Into Customer Service programme is helping to enhance parents’ job opportunities in well-paid posts.

New Scot Kateryna Voloshanovych, from Ukraine, is a mum-of-two who is currently working as an administrative assistant with Taylor & Henderson solicitors and estate agents in Saltcoats.

In Ukraine, Kateryna worked in HR and recruitment and when she moved to Scotland she was keen to upskill and find work that tied in with her children’s school hours.

She registered with We Work for Families (WWFF) – which is a Council-funded service in Ardrossan that supports parents into work and also offers them help with housing matters, gas and electricity bills, access to food bank vouchers and help with CVs.

And she had a Better Off calculation done - which explains the various benefits people are entitled to and how these could change when they start working - by the We Work For Families team.

Through the Council’s employability service’s Your Next Move, Working North Ayrshire programme, an opportunity came up for Kateryna to join Step Into Customer Service and she has now completed various training courses including customer service, health and safety in the workplace and confidence building.

Since January, she has been working 20 hours per week and would highly recommend that parents looking for a way back into the workplace contact the Your Next Move, Working North Ayrshire team.

She said: “I contacted the Council’s employability team to get help to find a job. I would say to other people, don’t be afraid to make the call because you will get a very warm welcome. It could help change your life.”

Janice McKee, Practice Manager at Taylor & Henderson, added: “Kateryna has settled in brilliantly and is an excellent administrator. She’s really well organised, efficient and helpful – and she has become a valued member of the team.

“Working in partnership with the Council has been a real advantage to the business. It has been a great partnership, and time and effort has been put into finding us the right candidate.”

Councillor Tony Gurney, Cabinet Member for Green Environment and Economy, said it is encouraging to see parents – and local employers – benefitting from the programme.

“This is a great example of how partnership working can benefit parents who are looking for work and training and also local employers who are keen to hire locally.

“Congratulations to Kateryna on her new post. I hope her positive journey with our Your Next Move, Working North Ayrshire programme encourages other parents to take the first step and find out what support we can offer them too.”

The Employability Service delivers a range of support through its Your Next Move, Working North Ayrshire programme.

Contracted partners delivering Your Next Move, Working North Ayrshire include We Work for Families and CEIS Ayrshire, who all contribute to delivering a wide range of support to help individuals prepare and progress into employment.

To access any of the opportunities delivered by North Ayrshire Council’s Employability Service Your Next Move, Working North Ayrshire please email employability@north-ayrshire.gov.uk

You can also find out how the team at our Employability Hub can help you with everything from CVs and application forms to college courses and interview techniques here: https://tinyurl.com/4wvvzubd

For more information on how you can get help during the Cost-of-Living Crisis, please visit the Council’s website at: https://www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk/cost-of-living/

Our photo shows Kateryna and Janice at the  Taylor & Henderson office.