In the next two years I want to get on the road to becoming a qualified engineer.
In my last role I was doing all the work of an engineer, but because I didn’t have the right qualifications I ended up on much lower wages. My partner can't work at the moment, so my salary was paying for everything for us and the two kids. We used to split the rent of our four bedroom house with another tenant, but he left and then I broke my ankle so had to stop working. It was like a line of dominos falling down, and in a short time we ended up having to rely completely on benefits. We can't afford both our rent and our living costs on the benefits we're getting, so we've been sinking into debt ever since.
I really want to improve this situation, for both my future and my family's future. It's my responsibility to look after my partner and our kids, and this motivates me to keep moving forward.
Getting into work is going to be the first positive step on this journey. Once I've started earning, I’ve worked out that I'll able to afford our accommodation and we'll be in a better place to pay off our debts. I’m focusing on warehouse work because it’s something I’ve done before. I’ve even got an expired forklift licence, so I just need support renewing it. Beam are also supporting me to get a CSCS licence, which will mean I can apply for jobs in the construction industry too.
All in all, I’m happy to start here so I can get my family into a better situation and take a positive step forward in my life.