John

After graduating from the Gateway to Construction course, John found work on the Woodlands School redevelopment in Coventry. Prior to that he’d been working on after completing a new-build for Bowmer and Kirkland working for both Linsco and Buildforce.

I was in a bit of a mess when I got sent onto the course by my local Job Shop – my most recent relationship had broken down and I was registered homeless, living in an HMO with some quite undesirable types and drinking far too much than was healthy for me.

Going back 20 years or so I was on the bins and done some warehouse work and done some construction work, so I knew I could handle life back on construction sites.

The trainers on the course were brilliant – a lot of the material I knew already as I’ve worked in that industry.

The really big help was being supported by NIS into work – getting myself back in the swing of going into work again has given me back my self esteem and helped me start to get my life back on track.