Empowering people to access the right training and gain skills to find a job is an important part of the work of the 999 Club.
Marie-Danielle came to the 999 Club in 2017 and joined the Pret Foundation’s Rising Stars programme, which provides training and work for homeless people. Here is her story.
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“I first came across the 999 Club around September 2017. I was looking for a job and I was desperate. I had been living with someone and they threw me out. I needed work.
“I knew about the 999 Club and thought: ‘I’m going to try to see if they can help me.’ I knocked on the door one evening, explained my situation and was told to come back early the next morning.
“So I did and met with Dahlia, [999 Club’s Employability Coordinator]. I told her I was desperate, that I have a background in sales but that I was willing to work at anything.
“She told me about an opportunity at the Pret Foundation and I thought ‘why not?’. Dahlia did my CV and one week later we went together to the appointment, for Pret’s Rising Stars programme.
“I got offered a three-month placement on that programme.
One day a week I went to their head office to talk about my experiences, my progress, how I was getting on. The rest of the time, you learn on the job, and train in everything about Pret.
“I started in Canary Wharf in one shop, first in the kitchen but I wasn’t fast enough. Then I moved on to the tills and I was good at that.
“I got good so they sent me everywhere, to shops all over the place. Then I did barista training and helped open up a new store in Caxton Street with people on the Rising Stars programme.
“I worked with the Pret Foundation for about one-and-a-half years before recently getting a new job in a hospital, driving an ambulance which I really enjoy as it’s helping people in a very direct way.
“Pret was a really good experience. I learned how to cope with people from different countries, I learned about different food and how to sell it to people, and I learned a new approach of customer service. Pret gave me a good step up onto a new part of my life.”