Twenty-six years without a job. Now he sets his alarm for 6am so he won’t be late.
Kelvin is 52 and has a learning disability. He lives alone in supported living, with a support worker who helps him once a week with budgeting and shopping. He left education 32 years ago.
For two years, from 1997 to 1999, Kelvin worked in sheltered employment as a factory worker and warehouse packer at Remploy. Then, for the 26 years that followed, there was nothing — no job, no volunteering, nothing to fill the working week. His time was spent going to church and the gym, and slowly, his world grew smaller. He has no close friends, and nine years ago, his mother moved away to Wolverhampton.
EmployAble first met Kelvin at Barnet Mencap’s job club. Week after week, he turned up and set about applying for jobs, working patiently through a process made harder by his limited computer skills. It wasn’t fast, and it wasn’t easy — but his resilience, enthusiasm and good nature were impossible to miss.
EmployAble arranged a job trial for him in the Potwash at DHL Supplies’ Euston site, and Kelvin was offered a fixed-term contract — on the understanding that EmployAble would be there to teach him, piece by piece, everything the role required. He needed extended support with health and safety training especially, and time to embed it properly in the workplace.
