Tales from our Restart Scheme: Michael's Story

As part of National Inclusion Week, we wanted to share a success story from our Restart Scheme, which highlights some adaptations we made to our usual learning environment for one of our participants, who’s name has been changed to protect their privacy.

Michael's Story

In 2022, 20-year-old Michael arrived at our Restart Scheme HQ in Manchester.

He handed a letter to our Employability Tutor, Eileen, which explained that he was autistic and very unlikely to find full time employment.

Eileen worked with Michael to find out what his interests were and he revealed that it would be his “dream” to find a job in hospitality.

She decided to do whatever she could to help Michael find employment.

"Did I believe that he could never get a job? No. That was the one thing I could not believe. I would never believe that, and if I ever started to believe that, then I'm in the wrong job."

However, Eileen quickly identified that the usual classroom-based approach to hospitality training wouldn’t be suitable for Michael, so decided to make some changes to best accommodate him.

"I knew that (Michael) wouldn’t benefit from our usual approach to customer service and hospitality training in a classroom setting, so needed to think outside-the-box.

"I thought, let's go practical on this one. So I said right, I'm going to make a restaurant in here. We turned our office into a mock restaurant, with menus placed on the tables and staff asked to pretend to be customers.

"We showed Michael how to serve, which way to serve the food, where to clear your plates from, how to serve a drink, etc.

"Besides all of this, I could see his sense of humour coming through. He spent the entire morning taking orders, and he absolutely loved it!"

After working to Michael’s strengths, Eileen was eventually able to find him work at a well-known franchise chain restaurant, where he still works today.

“I remember I went home the night before his interview and I'm lying in my bed wondering how he's got on. Anyway, we eventually got the word through that he’d got the job. It really was the best feeling. I am absolutely super proud of him!”

These small changes to the learning experience paid off for Michael in a big way, and is just one of many stories of how our team involved in the Restart Scheme make sure all our participants feel included, with adaptations made to suit each person individually.

Find out more about our Restart Scheme

Our Restart Scheme is a government initiative providing up to 12 months of enhanced support to help residents in Greater Manchester find a job in their local area. It is designed to break down any employment barriers that could be holding them back from finding work.

You can find out more about the programme by visiting the Restart Scheme page on our website.

The B2W Group has a fresh approach to transforming businesses by up-skilling their current staff or bringing an apprentice into the business to add a dynamic and dedicated individual to the team. All of our courses are available through various streams of government funding so are a cost-effective way to provide high-quality training within the workplace.

Quick Links

Contact

0161 474 7603
info@b2wgroup.com

Floor 4,Building 4,
Universal Square,
Devonshire Street,
Manchester,
M12 6JH