KEM’S STORY
P E T-X i C A S E S T U DY Kem Kehal, aged 58, had been a successful community banker for 17 years, but had to take a few years out of work to become a full-time carer for her mother, who was living with vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s. When she was ready to start looking for work again, Kem had lost a bit of confidence in herself and was eager to improve her skillset before putting herself out into the job market. Kem especially wanted to improve her IT skills in light of updates to technology that she was not familiar with during her time away from work.
Support provided by PET-Xi The first course Kem enrolled on with PET-Xi enrolled on was an IT User skills programme. The week-long course was dedicated to learning the basics of common software such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint, as many jobs require these skills. Kem was later referred to other PET-Xi courses including Customer Service, Team Leading, Health and Social Care, and also participated in the new City of Culture programme. Kem was provided with excellent support throughout her two months of study – she was given mock interviews and role plays to help her prepare for real-life interviews. Charmaine Jones, who helped train Kem on the courses, said: “Kem was a very flexible learner who was open to all sorts of different ideas. “It was clear she already had a lot of experience, but just needed a topping up of her skills and a nudge in the right direction when it came to looking in the right places for jobs that would suit her. “She was a pleasure to work with and I’m glad her time at PET-Xi helped her secure a new job.”
Charmaine Jones
The outcome Kem is now employed full-time with Coventry City Council in its customer services department and said the skills she learned at PET-Xi are put into practice every day at work.
“Training PET-Xi worked out brilliantly for me - I felt much more confident in myself and was able to put myself out there in job searching and interviews. All the courses helped me so much and were actually relevant to the role I’m in now. “Without participating in these courses, learning new content and having the amazing support of the PET-Xi staff, I am not sure I would have been able to secure a post in such a short period of time. “I’m really enjoying my new role at the council and I’m very grateful to the team at PET-Xi for their help.” Kem Kehal Together we work as one Kem was supported through the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) project ‘Step Up’ – which helps support anyone in the region struggling to get back into work for any reason. The vocational courses that Kem accessed were funded by the WMCA’s Adult Education Budget, which aims to equip adults for work, up-skill current employers and find specialist training.
If you would like to do the same course as Kem we would love to hear from you! To sign up call Ruth Edwards on: 07387 412 952 or email: redwards@pet-xi.co.uk