After leaving school in Carlisle, Joe Farley-Graham embarked on a two year Business course at Carlisle College. He was unsure of his future career path and didn’t know where his studies could take him.
Whilst at college Joe attended Carlisle Skills Fair. This gave him an opportunity to talk to a number of employers and find out more about business roles and the different types of organisations that were hiring locally.
Joe said, “The Skills Fair was really useful. I was able to talk directly with employers and find out about vacancies and progression routes. To be honest, I was very nervous about approaching employers but they were all really friendly and so positive about employing young people like myself that I did get a lot of confidence from that.”
Once Joe had completed his studies he began to focus on his next steps into business and administration. Unfortunately, the COVID pandemic broke and after the subsequent lockdowns, Joe found himself unemployed and seeking work again.
Joe decided to put his business qualification to good use and found a Kickstart placement (a government scheme to assist 18-24 year olds into employment) and after a successful interview, he secured a 6 month contract with Inspira. He was to put his business and administrative skills to good use.
Joe said, “I was really nervous when I first started. The team were really friendly though and I received a lot of training during my induction, which really helped. Once I had got used to the systems I really began to enjoy the work. I really like working with people, both the Inspira team and the customers. It is satisfying when the team are thankful for your input and the customers are grateful for the help they have received.”
At the end of his placement Joe was offered a full time Administrator position with Inspira. Susan Watkins, Area Operations Manager at Inspira, said, “Joe really grasped the opportunity when he came to Inspira. He developed his skills and fitted in really well with the rest of the team. Whilst he came to us with no experience in business administration he did have his theoretical knowledge from his time at college and he also had the appropriate behaviours and attitudes to help him learn and succeed. I am very pleased that Joe has become a valued member of our team and continues to grow with us.”
Joe said, “It is ironic really. A few years ago I was a visitor to Carlisle Skills Fair wondering what direction my career could take. Now, I have an active role at the event. I assist with the planning – sending out letters to attendees, then I host the reception desk for visitors and produce the evaluation of the event afterwards. Events are only part of my role. I look after Inspira’s centre on Lowther Street doing everything from health and safety checks to staff rotas, contract compliance tasks to production of marketing materials. I have now been in post for just over 2 years and I can honestly say that it is never boring, always something new to learn and another challenge to face. If you’re wondering what to do next, join me on 25th January and you too could find that dream opportunity and take the next steps.”