cmoizer-blog

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2022 What a year

What started as going to be a boring year as my asda cleaning job came to an end and no other options for me but then with help from job centre and Leeds city council employment and skills team helped me secure a job as a casual post event cleaner job on nights at the Leeds First Direct Arena, Where I have had the pleasure of working (of course) but while waiting for my shift to start getting the opportunity to see some big names doing what they do best and that’s giving the public a night out to remember and best value for their money,

Some of my best events I have seen before starting work and no particular order is josh Warrington twice, Jeff Dunham (Ventriloquist and puppeteers of the famous dead terroist Achmed), Alice cooper (And got to meet his stage crew manager and my team got some lunch paid by him as a thank you for cleaning up after him), Craig David, Blondie, even Barry manilow (who I never heard of until I started working here), the script, university fight night (Leeds uni vs Leeds becket charity fight), blue (music group), the script, Rod Stewart, Little Mix🤣

The list goes on and on but in 2023 I’m looking forward to seeing what famous names I get to watch and obviously clean up after them.

I have enjoyed being able to be part of a team who played a vital role in helping the wider teams of the arena achieve their goals and keeping the entertainment industry in Leeds and the arena moving forward after what was a let down by covid 19 prior to me starting the job and having the industry closed due to government rules.

The things that was a wow moment is if you ever seen metallica nothing else matters live in person or on youtube where everyone uses torch and no stage lights to light up the show then some of the acts at Leeds Arena did something similar and managed to light up the room with just there phone torch

As the final hours of 2022 approaches onwards and upwards to see what happens in 2023

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BT work placement review - openreach 

My name is Connor Moizer and I have been by one of the work ready coaches Gail Buckle to write a document on how I found the Openreach side of the of the work ready program.

My experience was on the 24/10/18 – 31/10/18 in and around the Bradford and Kirklees & Leeds area.

The practical experience was the best time I have had at BT Leeds because I was allowed to see/watch how the buddies along with a team of engineers how they keep the Openreach network up and running.

The tasks I was involved in was some PQ tests in houses or businesses or streets, wires from properties to the pole, cab work and some UG (underground).

my engineering buddies were very helpful in the way of them showing me how to do that task like for example how to send some information from their work iPhone to there one expert tester and how to match the wires in the cab and how to maintain the equipment.

The things that amazed me when I was out and about with the engineers was that a pole has a 10 year life span before it cannot be tested as safe to use by the engineer and needs to go through the Openreach test and how a smartphone (iPhone) can be used to test the customers network before the engineer even gets to the location my buddies tested the first customers equipment from my street whilst they were waiting for me to come out to the van (now that amazed me the most).

As a saw from the day to day running of the network that every customer’s fault is different from the last and some could be a simple 5 mins job or 1hr + to complete.

One day I would love to work for Openreach but at the time of writing this (19/11/18), I currently do not have a full UK driving license (my buddies told me that the license is the most important thing in this industry).

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Employment and Skils Hub – Leeds City Council

Connor found himself in a common situation where his dreams of forging a career in a creative

field, in this case photography, was being neutralised by the pressure of finding regular secure employment.

He was conflicted and lacked direction.

Upon meeting Carl, an LCC Employment and Skills advisor at Morley JCP, a plan was put into place to reassess Connor’s short and long term ambitions.

His advisor Carl encouraged Connor to analyse his skills and knowledge and consider what his priorities were. Connor stressed that a career in photography was something he really wanted to aspire to but he realised that he also needed a steady income. He didn’t believe that these two goals could progress alongside each other but with some action planning and goal setting established it was clear that they could.

Carl advised Connor to get some specialist advice on starting one’s own business, so

signposted him to The Business and IP centre at Leeds Libraries. He also sought advice from his work coach at Morley JCP on self-employment and how this would work with his benefits.

Further information, advice and guidance included:

 Giving feedback and advice on his website

 Creating an online social media presence

 Attending networking and meet up events

 Applying for DBS and safeguarding training

 Signposting to specific online learning tools such as Google Digital Garage, Future Learn etc.

 Drafting a speculative letter to send to local studios and photographers in hope of gaining some work experience.

 Researching photography qualifications through further education

All of this hard work carried out by Connor and the guidance offered by his E&S worker has enabled Connor to establish a solid basis for a potential career in his chosen area of interest.

However, as it was recognised that to forge his desired career, a more reliable and regular income would be required. We simultaneously set about putting the employability requirements and skills in place to increase Connor’s chances of securing such work.

Suggestions and research was carried out on Fareshare warehouse placement/FLT course, Safety Stewarding course and more.

We then updated his CV, wrote a cover letter, and reviewed job searching techniques.

“Carl has helped me realise that I can achieve my ambitions of starting a career in

photography. He has given me the tools and confidence to appreciate my abilities and I now feel more motivated to give everything to achieve my goal.”

Connor now has a clear vision and is well on the way to securing work as well as building the stepping stones to a potential career in photography. Keep an eye out on Connor’s website here: www.connormoizer.com

Original Article

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Think Employment

“I think they try and make it more like a workplace” – Connor Moizer

https://www.thinkemployment.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen_Shot_2019-06-06_at_13.57.28.jpg

Connor Moizer preferred his time at Think Employment over other training providers because of the learning environment at St David’s Court.

After becoming aware of our pre-employment training courses by his advisor at Reed in Partnership, Connor gained sector-specific skills in both Warehousing and Storage and later Retail – vastly improving his chances of finding work in both industries.

Connor received lots of additional support after his training finished – something the former Post Officer worker thinks is helping move closer to re-entering the job market.

How did you first hear about Think Employment?

I’m with Reed in Partnership and my advisor was looking at my CV and asked if I’d like to do a Warehousing and Storage course. That’s when I first became aware of Think Employment and all of the courses on offer. While I was doing the Warehousing training, I looked on your website to see what other courses I might be able to do and I decided to do the Retail training course as well!

Okay, so did you think that Retail was a sector you were interested in working as well?

Yeah because I thought if I had skills and qualifications in Retail, I could always move into that industry next. Now, I’ve got the knowledge and know-how to do that. Personally I found the Retail course to be harder than the Warehousing one I did before because it involved more paperwork and practical demonstrations but I still enjoyed it.

What sector-specific skills did you learn during the Warehousing course?

I learned how to pick and pack with a mock up shelf, update a database manually using Google Spreadsheets and pack a box correctly with the proper warehousing manual handling techniques during the Warehousing and Storage course. But on top of those skills we also learned about team work as well, which I understand are transferable to any sector.

Tell us about any additional support you’ve had from Think Employment staff

I’ve had many phone calls from the Learner Recruiter Sabrina asking how I’ve been getting on and seeing if I needed any extra help to find work. Because of that contact, I came back into the learning centre for an afternoon to do some supported job applications. I applied for a job at the British Heart Foundation warehouse in Armley and I got a reply within 30 minutes of sending the application and I was interviewed the following Monday. So it worked!

What do you think to the learning environment at St David’s Court – did you like it?

Yeah I’d say so because other training providers I’ve been to have the learners and staff all in one room together – a bit like when you go to the Job Centre. But at Think Employment you have separate rooms for the different training taking place which allows you to focus more on what you’re being taught. I preferred that over everyone being in together and talking all the time.

And the members of staff – what did you think to them?

I thought they were really good. You can have a laugh with them but it doesn’t stop you from doing the work. It’s not like when you were at school and the teachers were very strict. Here, I think they try and make it more like a workplace.

Would you recommend other people come to Think Employment?

Yeah I would, mainly because of the support you get from the staff. I’ve had phone calls from Sabrina at least once a week asking if they can do anything else to support me and that’s helping me get closer to finding work.

Original Post