Penrith man with disability & mobility issues receives Inspiring Eden award for business excellence
A Penrith man who has a disability and mobility issues has been awarded the Inspiring Eden award for his achievements in business in the local area.
Ben Currie left school in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic with no work experience, no CV and no idea of what he wanted to do. Ben started work to develop his employability skills which included attending job interviews, completing his CV and creating an online job site profile.
Ben secured a work experience placement with a local organisation's IT department. During the placement Ben proved to be an excellent communicator, highly organised and attentive to detail, receiving glowing praise from the firm’s HR and IT managers.
The successful placement ultimately secured him a fully employed position in IT with the company.
Speaking about receiving the award Ben said: "Although I have been given this award, it really represents all the young people accessing The Hub.
"Everybody here is amazing and have really helped me so much. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, or even what I could do. Getting support is a great thing to do – getting an award for it is very humbling.”
Youth worker Loran Huddart who works with young people across Eden said: "There is no typical sort of young person I work with. Everybody faces different struggles when it comes to securing and sustaining employment.
"Ben showed tremendous resilience in his efforts to find the right career for him. He learnt new skills, took part in challenges with a team, went on a work experience placement and ultimately secured employment as an IT technician.
"That is what makes my job so satisfying, everybody is different and has differing support needs, be that employability skills, help with finances and budgeting, support with confidence issues, but ultimately everybody needs somebody to be on their side to help them to where they want to get to.”
The Eden Hub is designed to help young people overcome any barriers to employment and supports them to work towards their career goals and aspirations.
Ben was nominated for the Inspiring Eden award following his participation with Eden Youth Hub, a partnership between DWP, Eden District Council, Cumbria County Council and Inspira.
Susan Watkins, Operations Manager at Inspira, said, “I have got to know Ben quite well whilst he has been working with The Hub.
"He worked long and hard to improve himself and overcome the barriers that were preventing him moving into employment.
"Ben should be an example to other young people with disabilities, those that have been impacted by the COVID pandemic and those whose confidence is holding them back – keep at it, develop your skills and you can achieve anything.”
Any young person wanting to access support through The Hub can drop into Eden Rural Foyer on Tuesdays from 10am to 4pm.
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