Meet the team – Richard Yuille, YEI Advocate

New recruit Richard Yuille is a perfect example of how Actes supports its clients to fulfil their potential, having gone from client, to volunteer and now full-time employee in just a few months.

Twenty-five year old Richard from Middlesbrough is settling into his new role as YEI Advocate where he has a responsibility for providing administrative support to Actes’ New Directions team, as well as working directly with clients to provide one to one support to address barriers and progress into employment.

Richard is ideally placed to work with 15-29 year-olds who are not in employment, education or training, having experienced the challenges of unemployment himself since leaving college with a qualification in computer games design.  He had spent time self-employed as an online trader, however having decided to concentrate on securing employment he had faced barriers to progressing into IT or Admin roles which he has identified as being best suited to his skills set.

He first became involved with Actes in June following a referral from his Job Coach at Middlesbrough Job Centre who suggested he engage with the Talent Match Middlesbrough programme, also delivered by Actes, for support with securing employment.  His Talent Match Mentor assisted with CV writing and job applications before referring him onto Defining Futures, a four-day Level 2 accredited award in practical employability skills.  Upon completion he began volunteering on the course, supporting learners with preparing and tailoring CVs and cover letters, job search techniques and interview preparation.

Richard commented: “My Talent Match Mentor Jay had suggested that it would be beneficial for me to get some volunteering experience to boost my CV, so it was useful to go through the Defining Futures course myself to see things from both sides. Volunteering helped boost my confidence and gave me a lot of valuable experience.”

After volunteering on the course over the summer months the role of YEI Advocate came up with New Directions and Richard felt that with his experience of employment support, he was in a position to apply for the role which he went on to successfully secure.

Richard added: “I’m really enjoying the role so far and pleased that Actes has seen my potential and given me this opportunity.  At the moment my workload is mainly admin focused but I will eventually be working more closely with clients and I look forward to helping them to overcome barriers to employment, something which I have myself faced and can relate to.”