Dean

Before he met Inspire, Dean was struggling to integrate back into society after being on the wrong side of the law. He had moved to start fresh and was looking for something to do, however, he was at a low point with his confidence getting the better of him with being in a new place.

Dean met one of our Team Leaders Jacob who told him about our Prince’s Trust Team programme running in Stowmarket for 12 weeks,  which would help to build his confidence, skills for work and give him lots of experience to allow him to progress onto a positive next step.

He was feeling a little unsure about the programme at the start but took on the outward bound residential trip, which happens in week 2. He was able to get away from his current situation focusing all of his energy on his time away. He had a chance to do activities that he had never done before including low ropes, canoeing, learning new skills and building team skills.

He was able to gain confidence through the various activities and took the role of a natural leader, always encouraging other team members to join in and checking how everyone was doing. Whilst on residential, Dean and his team had a visit from our charity Patron and Inspire 30 Club member Andy Perrin from Hemisphere Freight, where Andy shared stories of his life and journey with the team.  He found Andy’s visit really inspirational and felt like he could connect to the stories Andy was telling.

Andy Perrin Managing Director of Hemisphere Freight said:

“From day one Dean came across as being courteous, polite and thoughtful and it was clear he wanted to gain the maximum benefit from the programme. I had no hesitation in offering him the opportunity of two weeks work experience.”

“Whilst he was more anxious than I expected, his honesty in communicating that he needed to take his time to ensure he got things right was refreshing! Over the two weeks, he not only grasped the opportunity but grew in confidence and successfully completed a course to gain his counterbalance forklift license. From my own observations and the positive feedback I received from my team, I offered Dean a full-time position and in the few months that he has been with us at Hemisphere Freight, he has proven to be reliable, hard-working and extremely conscientious.”

“We are very proud to have Dean working with us and representing us in such a professional manner and he in turn should be proud of his own achievements!”

Team programme has given Dean opportunities that he otherwise wouldn’t be able to access, including a work experience placement at Hemisphere Freight,  which came from Andy Perrin’s visits to the programme.  During his time on his work experience, he had the opportunity to complete his Forklift Training, which has been such a beneficial experience for him and some great experience to bring with him.  Dean made such a good impression whilst completing his work placement that he has been offered a full-time job at Hemisphere Freight after finishing Team programme. He has now started his job at Hemisphere and is doing really well!

Dean said:

“I wasn’t sure on Team programme at first but I’m so glad that I’ve taken it on. The residential trip really helped me to gain more confidence and made me realise what I am capable of.

Dean is just one of the many young people that Inspire supports to overcome a range of challenges and to strive for a positive next step in their lives. Find out more about what we do here.

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