KUDIELELA’S STORY
P E T-X i C A S E S T U DY Kudielela Santana had been a self-employed business consultant working with SMEs in Portuguese-speaking countries for over 10 years. When the pandemic hit, she found herself out of work, homeless and unable to afford to live in London, so moved in with her cousin in Coventry with her two young children. She was referred to PET-Xi by Coventry Job Shop which was unable to offer employment support due to her not having a permanent fixed address.
Support provided by PET-Xi Kudielela was referred to PET-Xi Recruitment and Progressions Co-Ordinator Charlotte Briscoe who signed her up to the Step-Up Programme, which aims to help Coventry residents who are facing barriers move into employment. After hearing more about Kudielela’s situation, Charlotte first wanted to help her find temporary accommodation so referred her to the Shaw Trust to support with this. The organisation subsequently referred Kudielela to Wise Ability which allocated her a support worker who found emergency accommodation with a view of helping to secure a permanent residence. Charlotte then went on to find out more about Kudielela’s skillset and her passion to help others experiencing difficulties. Charlotte said: “It was clear that Kudielela wanted a role where she could help people, so when a mentoring position became available at Wise Ability I knew she’d be the perfect candidate. “I was able to help her prepare for the interview and she did extremely well and was successful in gaining the role. “When I first spoke to Kudielela she was very emotional and it was clear she was in an extremely difficult situation.
“Having moved to Coventry from London she unfortunately found that there was very little support she could access to find housing or employment through the local authorities, so to help achieve this result for her is just fantastic.”
Outcomes
A R
“She listened to the problems I was having, drafted some possible solutions and made referrals to relevant agencies, keeping in constant contact through phone calls and messages to provide reassurance. “She had a huge amount of energy and enthusiasm and really went above and beyond, not only focusing on improving my situation, but helping to look after my wellbeing. “I’m really pleased to have a mentoring role with Wise Ability. One day I hope to revisit my passion for international business, but for now I just want to get back on my feet.”
P
R
She said: “When I was referred to PET-Xi I was in a desperate situation and Charlotte provided me with an incredible amount of support.
G
Kudielela has now begun her role as a Switch Mentor for Wise Ability and is looking to the future.
O
M
M
E
Charlotte Briscoe
Together we work as one Kudielela was supported through the Step-Up Programme, a West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) funded project run by award-winning national training provider PET-Xi aimed at helping Coventry residents who are facing barriers move back into employment.
If you would like to do the same course as Kudielela we would love to hear from you! To sign up call Charlotte on: 07387 412 956 or email: cbriscoe@pet-xi.co.uk