We’ve partnered with the Recovery College to share one of our many Black Country Job Support success stories. This week, Ruby shares her story with us…

“My name is Ruby and I began my journey as a student of the Recovery College and a service user of the IPS Employment Service. I have now recently just volunteered with the Recovery College as a co-facilitator, delivering the IPS course called JOBS, which stands for Jobs, Opportunities, Building and Success. This course is based on helping those struggling with mental health challenges similar to myself, to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to prepare for the next stage in their lives. Some of the skills and qualities gained through the course include self-compassion, independence, self-awareness, goal setting, self-motivation and confidence. The overall goal of the course is to help support individuals in developing a sense of direction and purpose in life, by exploring different opportunities in areas such as volunteering, employment, and training.

We provide the resources and knowledge to help individuals effectively search and apply for opportunities, and also use online quizzes to identify their unique skillsets and potential career paths. We then help individuals set personal goals to help them on their journey one step at a time, in achieving their final ultimate goal.

Personally, having come from an employment background in the finance sector, I realised through the help of the IPS Service that my real passion lay in working in the Mental Health field. Being a Volunteer Co-facilitator at the Recovery College on the JOBS course, really helped me establish my passion for supporting those with mental health challenges using my own personal lived experience. Due to having no previous experience working in the Mental Health field, this also gave me the exposure needed to gain the valuable knowledge and skills necessary to work in this field. Similarly, we support individuals interested in volunteering to help with a number of aspects such as checking their suitability in a role before considering employment; gaining required skills and knowledge in a particular sector; or simply to get back into the routine of working after being unemployed.

Personally, the highlight of the course was seeing the confidence and interaction levels of the course attendees increase gradually over the period of the course. Knowing that they had an impactful experience and seeing them slowly open up and share, showed great progress in their personal growth and optimism for the future in achieving their aspirations and goals.

My opportunity to volunteer with the IPS Service via the Recovery College has been an extremely positive and valuable experience. I think it would be wonderful for other service users like myself to participate in the facilitation of the JOBS course to support others on a similar journey, or simply attend as a student, overall working towards your own personal goals.”

Interested in getting involved? Keep an eye on our social media and website for upcoming opportunities!