At Riverside, our Employment and Training team are always here for customers who are looking for support with work and development, both within our organisation and with other employers.
Through the government’s Kickstart Scheme, we’ve recently supported young mum and Riverside tenant Charlotte to join our Lettings team.
Charlotte had previously been struggling to find work around childcare and felt isolated as a stay-at-home parent. When our Employment and Training team got in touch about a new Lettings Assistant role, she jumped at the chance to find out more.
She had really stood out at her interview, and we were thrilled when she accepted the opportunity to join us in March.
We caught up with Charlotte to find out how she’s been getting on, here’s what she had to say:
“I was delighted when I was contacted by Riverside’s Employment and Training team about the new Kickstarter vacancy. It felt like a good opportunity for me, one that also suited my day-to-day life as I have a little boy, and the hours meant I could still have time outside of work to spend on quality family time. The role has also enabled me to better support my family financially.
“Before joining the Lettings team, as a stay-at-home mum I’d felt isolated and a little lonely as I hadn’t been communicating with anyone. But what I enjoy most so far about working at Riverside is working alongside others in an office environment to learn new things.
“I’ll admit, I hadn’t been interested in Lettings ahead of joining the team but when I saw the advert, I researched into it and got to know more. And I’ve found that everyone I work with is willing to help me to understand the Lettings department in greater detail.
“I have learnt a lot since joining Riverside, including essential skills such as time management, organisation, communication and critical thinking following tasks such as sending emails and handling phone calls, making new decisions and collaborating with others.
“There are certainly benefits and experiences tenants such as myself can bring to roles within the business. I can see the process from the opposite side, I can be the inside voice for our tenants, bringing insight as a customer myself that is valuable, and I work to provide the customer service I like to receive.
“I think it’s important that housing associations follow Riverside to offer employment and training to tenants like they have me as it shows equal opportunities; customers are already a part of the Riverside family, and we want to see our residents doing well.
“I would highly recommend Riverside as a place to work because I believe that the level of pride everyone has in their jobs is amazing. The company is very welcoming, understanding and determined to make all employees succeed. Even the support I received during the recruitment process was fantastic; I felt like I was listened to and that all my opinions were taken into consideration.
“Working here has made me reflect on what I want to do in life as before joining, I was unaware of what kind of environment I wanted to work in, but I’ve found I really enjoy working in an office and using IT equipment.
“I’d recommend anyone to engage with Riverside’s Employment and Training team as they have some fantastic opportunities.”
Rachel Mumberson, Employment and Training Officer at Riverside, added:
“It’s always rewarding to support our tenants into a new job, so to combine that with helping Riverside find excellent candidates like Charlotte feels extra rewarding. We know that we have a lot of customers that would be an asset to the organisation and hope we can continue to support talent acquisition to recruit for other teams in future.”