Pictured above: Nathan Ned's luck changed when he secured a
job as a croupier at the Circus Casino thanks to support from
Pertemps People Development Group
An unemployed man has played his cards right to secure a job as
a croupier in one of Birmingham's top casinos.
Lady Luck changed for 24-year-old Nathan Ned when he was
referred to Pertemps People Development Group (PPDG) by Jobcentre
Plus and now finds himself working in the bright lights of the
city's Circus Casino.
Jim Ward, general manager at Circus Casino in China town, said:
"Nathan is an inspiration. He is a single father who has had to
raise a young daughter on his own from a very young age. His
circumstances are difficult but he is doing absolutely brilliantly.
He is a wonderful young man who is both popular with the staff and
customers and I think he has a very bright future ahead of him as a
croupier."
Employment and training experts PPDG offered Nathan the
opportunity of getting back into work and ended his seven year
unemployment ordeal. Initially, he was placed on a Learndirect
course where he worked on improving his English and IT
qualifications whilst looking for work.
He also attended interview technique training in a bid to
improve his confidence and interview skills. He then enrolled on a
croupier training course organised by PPDG at its base in Newtown,
Birmingham, in November.
A casino-style room was set up complete with roulette, blackjack
and poker tables. During the eight week course he learned skills in
American roulette and blackjack. He joined 10 other croupier
trainees to gain the NVQ Level 2 Gambling Operations diploma.
The training was organized through the Government-funded Work
Focused Training initiative which provides vocational training
opportunities and employability skills to 18 to 24-year-olds and
was run in partnership with North Warwickshire and Hinckley
College.
After successfully completing the course Nathan, from Bartley
Green, soon secured a job as a croupier at Circus Casino soon where
he is now excelling. Nathan, a single father, is working flexible
hours and fitting his job around caring for his seven year-old
daughter who has he raised on his own from birth.
Nathan said: "The only other work I had done was in construction
for about a year where I worked as a domestic property labourer. I
have been bringing my young daughter up for the last seven
years.
"It has been difficult but I was determined to get back into
work and develop a career for myself. I was told about the croupier
course which was being run at PPDG and it really interested me. I
really enjoyed the course, learning about roulette and all the
various different card games such as poker and black jack.
"I enjoyed the course and after passing I quickly secured a job
at Circus Casino. I absolutely love the job. You meet interesting
customers and the staff I work with are all just great. It is a
perfect job for me. I work 40 hours per week and as my hours are
flexible they can be fitted around childcare."
Rachel Dewar, employment coach at PPDG, said: "Nathan was a
pleasure to help. He was determined to get back into work and
although his lack of experience in the workplace and hours
available for him to work did prove a stumbling block at first,
enrolling on the croupier course was an excellent move for him. He
is now doing excellently in his new job and everyone at PPDG is
delighted for him."
The Work focused Training initiative is part of the Government's
Backing Young Britain campaign, in partnership with the Future Jobs
Fund and the Community Taskforce, which encourages organisations to
provide young people with the opportunities they need to get into
work. PPDG is providing vocational training linked to the needs of
the local labour market that progresses young people towards the
achievement of full Level 2 or 3 vocational qualifications that can
be continued in work or around work if required.
PPDG's team of employment experts provide advice on benefits,
confidence building, one-to-one support, CV and interview
preparation as well as finding the right job or training course. In
partnership with DWP, the Ministry of Justice and Jobcentre Plus,
PPDG delivers a diverse range of employment and training
initiatives including Flexible New Deal, Working Neighbourhoods
Fund, Learndirect and many ESF funded programmes. More than 100,000
job seekers have been helped into sustained employment by the
company since the projects began. It has trained 130,000
people in vocational skills, and over 175,000 people have
benefitted from professional information, advice and guidance
services.