Jane's Story

Jane started as an Aspire trainee in June 2016. When she first joined Aspire, Jane suffered from severe anxiety and struggled to leave her home on bad days.

After a positive trial day at Aspire, Jane was able to set some goals with help from her Employment and Development Worker Tom. Jane had always loved working with plants, so with encouragement she signed up for the one day’s Introduction to Grounds Maintenance course. She loved it and couldn’t wait to learn more.

Jane began to build her confidence on the enterprise teams and took part in sports activities. Tom then put Jane forward for the CSCS card training; she passed this with flying colours and grew even more in confidence. With Aspire’s help, Jane became more comfortable using public transport and was able to attend college in Witney where she completed her Level 2 City & Guilds qualification in Horticulture. This led onto job searches and CV writing with Aspire and Jane was offered a full-time role working for a gardening team in Oxfordshire.

“Without Aspire’s help I would never have been able to get back into work and move forward with my life. I now have the confidence to get out there and do new things. Thank you Aspire team!”

Banner photo credit: Howard Stanbury for The Funding Network