We have been working in partnership with Edinburgh Palette to provide Supported Work Placements for volunteers. One such volunteer is Andrew Deeming, who, after undertaking this placement, has now found work in his desired field.
- Dale Gibson, CEO of Edinburgh Palette
Supported Work Placements
We have been working with Edinburgh Palette to run 525 Ferry Road since July 2018. A few months after we moved into the building, we relocated our office to the Hub, a reception area for the building where we greet visitors, receive post and assist prospective tenants.
In continuation of this partnership we are now supporting volunteers together. This is how Supported Work Placements were born, placements designed to assist our volunteers to get back into the workplace. Each placement is also supported by an external agency, providing additionally support. These positions are tailor made to each volunteer, assessing their career aspirations to then equip them with the skills they need to improve their employability and move onto a rewarding job.
We aim to offer this opportunity to more people, who start by volunteering, progress to paid supported work and then into mainstream employment.
Andrew's journey
Andrew's journeyOur IT support placement, Andrew Deeming, benefitted from the Supported Work Placements scheme in exactly the way it was designed. Andrew worked in Field Marketing before volunteering at People Know How but did not feel it was the right fit for what he wanted to do. With support from Into Work he was introduced to our Chief Executive Glenn Liddall, and in September 2018 he began volunteering with People Know How. As a volunteer, Andrew began working on our IT. He reviewed our computers, printers and other technology, assessing them for speed and functionality. Collaborating with other volunteers, he installed faster hard drives, newer software and organised our file storage systems, improving our workflow and helping staff and VIPs (Volunteers, Interns and Placement students) with all their IT queries.
Over the course of his volunteering he also became highly involved with our digital inclusion project, Re:Connect (which has now been reviewed and expanded into the Reconnect service). He participated in digital drop-ins, helping the community reduce social exclusion by building their digital skills. He was also involved in our current review of this project, contributing ideas about its improvement and future re-launch.
- Andrew Deeming
In light of all his work on People Know How’s IT, Andrew’s position was renamed ‘IT Support Helpdesk Technician’. In February he also started working on the front desk of 525 Ferry Road in a paid position supported by Edinburgh Palette, beginning his Supported Work Placement.
Working at People Know How
Andrew’s time at People Know How was characterised by opportunities to progress in his chosen career path. People Know How is not an exclusively digital-focused charity, but the wide scope of our projects affords opportunities for all VIPs to gain experience in almost any field.
"We’re in the unusual position of wanting to employ people that will leave to get further work, and when they do we know we’ve done our job properly." - Glenn Liddall, Chief Executive of People Know How
Along the way Andrew also made friends from around the world, meeting VIPs from Germany, Finland, Spain, France and more. All the while he was doing a job he enjoyed and helping the community. He mentions that even in projects such as Art Therapy, a field he feels removed from, he still made an impact on the community it supports by helping with printing or file storage of documents crucial to the project. For Andrew, positive discussions with our Chief Executive Glenn allowed him to gain experience his fields related to his interests. With his future career aspirations in mind, we were able to provide him with the opportunities to gain experience that would grow his CV to get a job he felt excited for.
- Andrew Deeming
The future
This month Andrew starts a new position at Menzies Aviation. In similarity to his position of IT Helpdesk Technician, Andrew will be working on the service desk, resolving IT issues dealing with airport logistics. His work will draw from his degree, while continuing to support people as he has done at People Know How.
Congratulations Andrew, from all of us at People Know How!