Shaping futures, changing lives - Amaya's story

Amaya is 19 years old, a university student, and lives with her parents in a Progress property in Leyland.

Amaya’s mum referred Amaya to Progress Futures in the hopes that she could secure employment local to where she lives, to fit around her university studies. Amaya said she was also open to doing some volunteering in the local community, as she felt this would help improve her confidence and would be something to put on her CV.

Amaya and her Progress Futures Mentor, Cathy, together created an action plan and completed an initial assessment.

Amaya met with Cathy when she was free from university. They sourced a number of local volunteering opportunities that were of interest to her on the Lancashire Volunteering Partnership website. Cathy supported Amaya in applying for several roles based in Leyland.

Amaya also asked Cathy if she would support her to apply for an invigilator role at a high school in Leyland. Together they worked on the application and submitted it.

The day after submitting the application, Amaya sent a text message to Cathy saying she had been invited for an interview. Cathy booked some time for them to do some interview preparation ahead of the interview date. Cathy also prepared some mock interview questions for Amaya to practice at home with her mum.

The day after her interview, Amaya contacted Cathy to say she had been offered and had accepted the job! Amaya is delighted to have secured her first job, and she started work as an invigilator this summer. She is also continuing to work with Lancashire Volunteer Partnership regarding the volunteering opportunities that she applied for.