Growing Llanelli based company Little Welsh Deli manufactures and sells high quality pasties throughout South Wales. The company has developed a turnover exceeding £250,000 per annum. With a growing base of retailers eager to stock their products, Little Welsh Deli needed extra staff. To help with their recruitment they contacted their local Workways+ office.
Workways+ helps unemployed people get into employment through funded training, work experience and 1- 1 mentoring. Workways+ provides a huge range of funded training ranging from acrylic nail technician to fork lift operator. Workways+ also provides Paid Work Opportunities. A PWO is a service where Workways+ pays the wages of an employee whilst they have a trial period of work. This way the employee gets valuable experience, on the job skills and a wage and the employer gets the opportunity to take a good look at a prospective member of staff without financial risk. PWO’s can be for up to 12 weeks full time.
Workways+ provided Little Welsh Deli with an Employment Liaison Officer, Nicola, to help them find a suitable person. Nicola set about identifying candidates amongst the database of Workways+ participants. One candidate put forward for consideration was Mark Dyson. Mark was unemployed long term.
Workways+ provided Mark with a mentor Rhiannon. Rhiannon worked with Mark helping him to identify what he would like to do. Mark had experience of the hospitality industry and felt he would like to work with food. Rhiannon put into place the funding for Mark to undertake a food hygiene qualification and help him develop his CV and gain interview skills. Nicola suggested that Mark could be a good candidate for the Little Welsh Deli Production Operative job. Nicola contacted Ryan Phillips, owner, Little Welsh Deli and an interview was arranged. Nicola and Rhiannon secured funding for Mark to have a Workways+ Paid Work Opportunity. The PWO started 1st July 2020 and Mark excelled in the role. At the end of the PWO Ryan was very pleased to offer Mark a full time job, which Mark still holds.
Ryan Phillips, owner Little Welsh Deli said, “Mark has a great attitude and goes the extra mile to be helpful. He is proactive, finds extra things to do and always willing to learn. Mark role has developed over the course of his employment and he now supervises two members of staff. We are very grateful to Workways+ for helping us find Mark and for the PWO, which helped us give Mark a work trial. Workways+ is our first call when we need new staff”.
Mark said, “Workways+ was great, they understood what I needed and helped me to get a great job with a future. I would recommend that anyone looking to get a job contacts Workways+”.
Workways+ is part funded by the European Social Fund through the Welsh Government.